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The Ice Age
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The end of the Tertiary period saw a great cooling of climates throughout the world. The result was the Ice Age of the Quaternary period. During this time, the ice caps spread outwards from the South and North Poles, and the glaciers crept down from the mountains. The lowlands of northern Europe and North America had a chill tundra landscape - barren lands with frozen ground - like modern Siberia. Animals evolved that were adapted to a very cold climate. However, there were warm spells in the Ice Age, lasting tens of thousands of years.
(A) SPECIAL DIET
The Irish elk could live on the sparse mosses and grasses of the bleak landscape. They roamed in herds like today's reindeer.
(B) LARGE SIZE
Big animals, like woolly mammoths, kept their heat in better than small animals, and so were suited to cold climates. Their long woolly fur also helped to protect them from the cold.
(C) INTELLIGENCE
One creature survived the Ice Age by having the intelligence and ability to make clothing and shelters. This creature could make and use fire and tools. This creature was a human being.
(D) WOOLLY PELT
Many animals, such as the woolly rhinoceros, an extinct relative of the modern rhinos, had furry coats to keep them warm.
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Previous:
Back
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Book:
Prehistoric Life
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Section:
Prehistoric
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Chapter:
The Ice Age
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