The Late Ice Age was the final and coldest stage of the last Ice Age, around 20,000 years ago. Studying its main features helps us understand what the world was like just before the climate warmed.
Climate and landscape
The most important feature was the very cold climate. Thick ice sheets covered much of northern Europe, Asia and North America. Because so much water was locked in ice, the sea level was low — much lower than today. This exposed land bridges, wide areas of dry land that connected places now separated by sea.
Plants, animals and people
In the cold, treeless lands called tundra, tough grasses and mosses grew. Large animals such as the woolly mammoth, reindeer and bison roamed these plains. Early humans (Homo sapiens) survived by hunting these animals, gathering plants, sheltering in caves, wearing animal skins, and using fire and stone tools. Life was hard, so people lived in small groups and moved to follow the herds of animals they hunted. These features are important because they set the scene for the great changes that came when the Ice Age finally ended.
Remember
- Cold climate with wide ice sheets.
- Low sea level exposing land bridges.
- Cold-adapted animals like the woolly mammoth.
- Humans hunted, used fire, and sheltered in caves.
Key idea
The Late Ice Age, about 20,000 years ago, was marked by a very cold climate, wide ice sheets, low seas, land bridges, and life adapted to the cold.