During 1929–1941 paleoecology began to treat climate dynamics and sea-level fluctuations as primary drivers of habitat distribution and faunal turnover. Researchers integrated stratigraphic mapping, fossil assemblages, and proxy indicators from lacustrine and glacial settings to reconstruct ancient environments, emphasizing the link between climate, ecosystem structure, and depositional context. Methodologically, cross-disciplinary proxies such as microfossils and charcoal were increasingly employed to infer vegetation, climate, and ecological change, bridging geology with paleoenvironmental interpretation. This period thus established a climate-centered, process-oriented paradigm that would inform later Cenozoic reconstructions.