Miocene
I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he goats out of thy folds. For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.
(Psalms 50:9-12) KJV
The Miocene is the Miocene because it’s the Miocene. Anything that’s not characteristic of the Miocene is assigned to something other than the Miocene. It’s a little microcosm of circular reasoning.
Paleobotany and the evolution of plants
We’re studying the periods of geological history as described by Wilson N. Stewart.
This was the text book we used in grad school when we studied for a masters of science in Biology.
MIOCENE
Wilson N. Stewart, Paleobotany and the evolution of plants.
Marked world-wide continental uplifts and a major orogeny resulting in the rise of the Alps. Climatic cooling and restriction of broad-leaved evergreens to lower latitudes. Establishment of present-day forest associations. Rise and rapid evolution of grazing mammals and ape-like creatures.
Part of this is the description of the fossilized remains of an ecosystem which was buried in a flood. Part of it is a description of major tectonic activity which began the process of forming tectonic plates and moving them into their present day locations. We’re not talking about Noah’s flood this time, this is a sedimentary deposit which is associated with Peleg’s tectonics.
Matty (Headwind) 