High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Pleistocene ( is the epoch from 2.588 million to 12000 years BP covering the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek (pleistos "most") and (kainos "new").The Pleistocene epoch follows the Pliocene epoch and is followed by the Holocene epoch. The Pleistocene is the first epoch of the Quaternary period or 6th epoch of the Cenozoic Era. The end of the Pleistocene corresponds with the retreat of the last continental glacier. It also corresponds with the end of the Paleolithic age used in archaeology.