Know the major changes in ocean life that occurred during the Neogene.
Be able to describe the evolution of life on land during the Neogene and to explain how the changes in plant life led to changes in terrestrial faunas.
Understand what happened to cause the extinction of large herbivores near the end of the Miocene Epoch.
Be able to describe the patterns of Neogene climate change.
Know the evidence for the recent Ice Age.
Be able to describe the effects of continental glaciation on terrestrial and marine life.
Understand why glaciation was usually accompanied by increased aridity.
Know the current scientific hypotheses about what caused the late Neogene glaciation of the northern hemisphere.
Know the generally accepted explanation for the cause of glacial cycles during the modern Ice Age.
Know the provinces of the American west, how they formed, their characteristics, and the roles of climate and plate tectonics in their formation and development.
Understand how tectonic movements and changes in sea level affected the western margin of the Atlantic Ocean during Neogene time.
Be able to describe how the Caribbean Sea formed.
Understand the role the Isthmus of Panama played in the migration of mammals in the Americas.
Be able to describe the changes that took place in the Mediterranean Sea at the end of the Miocene Epoch.
Be able to describe the general characteristics of australopithecines, when they lived, and their place in the evolution of humans.
Understand the main points of the theory that sudden global climatic change led to the origin of Homo, the human genus.