18 
AMERICA THE OLD WORLD. 
acteristic names. In this epoch of the world’s 
history we see the first approach to a condition 
of things resembling that now prevailing, and Sir 
Charles Lyell has most fitly named its three 
divisions, the Eocene, Miocene, and Pliocene. 
The termination of the three words is made from 
the Greek word Kamos , recent ; while Kos sig- 
nifies dawn, Melon less, and Pleion more. Thus 
Eocene indicates the dawn of recent species, Pli- 
ocene their increase, while Miocene, the inter- 
mediate term, means less recent. Above these 
deposits comes what has been called in science 
the present period, — the modern times of the 
geologist, — that period to which man himself be- 
longs, and since the beginning of which, though 
its duration be counted by hundreds of thousands 
of years, there has been no alteration in the gen- 
eral configuration of the earth, consequently no 
important modification of its climatic conditions, 
and no change in the animals and plants inhabit- 
ing it. 
I have spoken of the first of these periods, the 
Azoic, as having been absolutely devoid of life, 
and I believe this statement to be strictly true ; 
but I ought to add that there is a difference of 
opinion among geologists upon this point, many 
believing that the first surface of our globe may 
have been inhabited by living beings, but that all 
traces of then' existence have been obliterated by 
