Penultimate Glacial Period
The Penultimate Glacial Period is the glacial period that occurred before the Last Glacial Period. It began ~194,000 years ago, and ended ~135,000 years ago with the beginning of the Eemian interglacial. It roughly coincides with Marine Isotope Stage 6 and the Illinoian Stage. The Penultimate Glacial Period is one of a series of glacial and interglacial periods of the Quaternary ice age. The Quaternary ice age began 2.58 million years ago and is ongoing. It began with the beginning of the periodic ice sheet advances and retreats in the Northern Hemisphere, including the Laurentide Ice Sheet, the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, and the Greenland ice sheet. The Quaternary ice age is part of an even longer ice age called the Late Cenozoic Ice Age. It began 33.9 million years ago and is also ongoing. It began with the formation of the Antarctic Ice Cap.
The Penultimate Glacial Period is officially unnamed just like the Last Glacial Period. The word penultimate simply means second to last.
The Penultimate Glacial Period was at least the second glacial period that Neanderthals, Denisovans, and Homo sapiens experienced.
The Penultimate Glacial Period was more severe than the Last Glacial Period.
