Humans first appeared during the Quaternary period. The Quaternary or Neozoic period develops in the Cenozoic era, which extends from 2,588 million years ago to the present. The Quaternary is divided into two periods. The Pleistocene, the first and longest period of the period, was characterized by the cycles of glaciations and the appearance of the first humans (homos habilis); this period extended from 2,588 million years to 10,000 years BC The Holocene, the second epoch of the period, was characterized by the end of the glaciation and the emergence of human civilization; this period extends from 10,000 years BC to the present.