The Prehistorical Patrol: The Pleistocene

Poul Anderson, Time Patrol (New York, 2006); The Shield Of Time (New York, 1991).

The Pleistocene geological epoch, from about 2,588,000 to 11,700 years ago, was a period of repeated glaciations. "Pleistocene," meaning "Most New," contrasts both with the immediately preceding "Pliocene, " ("More New") and with the immediately succeeding "Holocene" ("Wholly New"), which extends to the present day.

Thus, the Time Patrol series informs us of Patrol activity in five successive epochs:

Oligocene;
Miocene;
Pliocene;
Pleistocene;
Holocene.

The Holocene, containing human history, is the main epoch for Patrol activity.

Patrol Activity in the Pleistocene
(i) A Patrol lodge in the Pyrenees employs Cro-Magnon guides 20,000 years ago;

(ii) Wanda Tamberly studies Cro-Magnon Europe;

(iii) in 18,244 BC, the Pyrenees lodge is the headquarters for an attempt to return history to the preferred course;

(iv) several years later, although earlier in Everard's experience, he reported a temporal change at the lodge but that was dealt with following a conference at the Academy back in the Oligocene;

(v) in 15,926 BC, the Patrol maintains a ranch in North America before human beings arrived

(vi) Wanda Tamberly studies the fauna of the Beringia land mass joining Siberia to Alaska, 13,212-13,211 BC;

(vii) Ralph Corwin studies the Paleo-Indians crossing Beringia in 13,211 BC;

(viii) Tamberly preserves a few generations of native Beringians from oppression by the socially and technologically more advanced Paleo-Indians.