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When Milankovitch cycles are preserved in the geologic record they provide a direct link between chronometer and climate change, and thus a remarkable opportunity to constrain the evolution of the surficial Earth System. The identification of such cycles has allowed exploration of the geologic record with unprecedented temporal resolution, and has spurred the development of a rich theoretical framework for climatic change. Accompanying these successes, however, has been a persistent skepticism: how does one reliably test for astronomical forcing/pacing in stratigraphic and paleoclimate data, especially when time is poorly constrained? From this perspective, it would seem that the merits and promise of astrochronology – a Phanerozoic time scale measured in 20,000 to 400,000 year increments – also serves as its Achilles heel, if the confirmation of such geologically short temporal rhythms defies rigorous …