The Antarctic Vostok ice core provided evidence of climate and feedback mechanisms over the past 420,000 years. However, marine records suggest smaller climate variability before this period, with limited greenhouse gas data. A new deep ice core from Dome C, Antarctica, extends the climate record to 740,000 years. The data align with the Vostok record for the four most recent glacial cycles, but show less pronounced interglacial warmth in earlier periods, with more time spent in warm conditions. The transition from glacial to interglacial conditions 430,000 years ago (Termination V) resembles the current interglacial transition, though with differences in change patterns. The interglacial following Termination V was exceptionally long, 28,000 years, compared to 12,000 years in the current interglacial. The results suggest that without human intervention, a climate similar to the present could persist. The climate of the last 500,000 years was characterized by strong 100-kyr cyclicity, with 41-kyr cycles dominating earlier. The period between 1 and 0.5 million years ago showed intermediate behavior. The observed frequencies arise from Earth's orbital parameters affecting solar radiation. The dominance of 100-kyr cycles over 41-kyr cycles in the later record is not well understood. New records of earlier periods are needed to understand these changes. Ice cores provide the most direct and highly resolved records of atmospheric parameters over these timescales. They record climate signals and greenhouse gases, as well as regional factors like aerosol content. Ice-core data are available only for the past 420,000 years, with the longest record from Vostok. These data show similarities in the last four glacial terminations, with greenhouse gases closely associated with climate. The Vostok record has become a key reference for other records and modeling efforts. The European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica (EPICA) aims to obtain two deep ice cores in East Antarctica. One core from Kohnen Station is aimed at producing a high-resolution record of a glacial-interglacial cycle in the sector facing the Atlantic Ocean, for comparison with Greenland records. The second core, from Dome C, aims to produce the longest possible record. The site has an ice thickness of 3,309 ± 22 m, with a current drilling depth of 3,190 m, of which 3,139 m has been analyzed. The core represents 740,000 years, including all of marine isotope stage (MIS) 11, which was not completed in the Vostok record. The core's stratigraphy is considered undisturbed, with a reliable timescale developed using anThe Antarctic Vostok ice core provided evidence of climate and feedback mechanisms over the past 420,000 years. However, marine records suggest smaller climate variability before this period, with limited greenhouse gas data. A new deep ice core from Dome C, Antarctica, extends the climate record to 740,000 years. The data align with the Vostok record for the four most recent glacial cycles, but show less pronounced interglacial warmth in earlier periods, with more time spent in warm conditions. The transition from glacial to interglacial conditions 430,000 years ago (Termination V) resembles the current interglacial transition, though with differences in change patterns. The interglacial following Termination V was exceptionally long, 28,000 years, compared to 12,000 years in the current interglacial. The results suggest that without human intervention, a climate similar to the present could persist. The climate of the last 500,000 years was characterized by strong 100-kyr cyclicity, with 41-kyr cycles dominating earlier. The period between 1 and 0.5 million years ago showed intermediate behavior. The observed frequencies arise from Earth's orbital parameters affecting solar radiation. The dominance of 100-kyr cycles over 41-kyr cycles in the later record is not well understood. New records of earlier periods are needed to understand these changes. Ice cores provide the most direct and highly resolved records of atmospheric parameters over these timescales. They record climate signals and greenhouse gases, as well as regional factors like aerosol content. Ice-core data are available only for the past 420,000 years, with the longest record from Vostok. These data show similarities in the last four glacial terminations, with greenhouse gases closely associated with climate. The Vostok record has become a key reference for other records and modeling efforts. The European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica (EPICA) aims to obtain two deep ice cores in East Antarctica. One core from Kohnen Station is aimed at producing a high-resolution record of a glacial-interglacial cycle in the sector facing the Atlantic Ocean, for comparison with Greenland records. The second core, from Dome C, aims to produce the longest possible record. The site has an ice thickness of 3,309 ± 22 m, with a current drilling depth of 3,190 m, of which 3,139 m has been analyzed. The core represents 740,000 years, including all of marine isotope stage (MIS) 11, which was not completed in the Vostok record. The core's stratigraphy is considered undisturbed, with a reliable timescale developed using an