Abstract The Miocene epoch (23.03–5.33 Ma) was a time interval of global warmth, relative
to today. Continental configurations and mountain topography transitioned toward modern …

C4 photosynthesis is one of the most convergent evolutionary phenomena in the biological
world, with at least 66 independent origins. Evidence from these lineages consistently …

Human evolutionary scholars have long supposed that the earliest stone tools were made
by the genus Homo and that this technological development was directly linked to climate …

Paleosols (fossil soils) are preserved throughout the geologic record in depositional settings
ranging from alluvial systems to between basalt flows. Until recently, paleosols were studied …

The carbon isotope ratio (δ13C) of plant material is commonly used to reconstruct the
relative distribution of C3 and C4 plants in ancient ecosystems. However, such estimates …

The evolution of high-crowned molars among horses (Family Equidae) is thought to be an
adaptation for abrasive diets associated with the spread of grasslands. The sharpness and …

This paper outlines a general approach for analyzing siliceous microfossils from plants
(phytoliths) in geologic sediments and uses this method to reconstruct the evolution of …

C4 photosynthesis had a mid‐Tertiary origin that was tied to declining atmospheric CO2, but
C4‐dominated grasslands did not appear until late Tertiary. According to the 'CO2 …

The C4 photosynthetic pathway is a series of structural and biochemical modifications
around the more primitive C3 pathway that improve the photosynthetic efficiency under …

Plants with the C4 photosynthetic pathway dominate today's tropical savannahs and
grasslands, and account for some 30% of global terrestrial carbon fixation. Their success …