This succession was based primarily on a series of deposits and events not directly related to glacial and interglacial periods , rather than on the more usual modern method of studying biological remains found in interglacial beds themselves interstratified within glacial
deposits.
解析:句末的由how 引导的名词性从句中包括了双重的倒装,正常的语序本来是:If they had been in charge of events, they would have arranged the Ice Age in certain model schemes。本句中由于arrange 的方式被提前,就造成了arrange 的动作执行者也要提前,前面的if they had been则必须后置;这样一来又造成了if 被省略,成为had they been 的倒装结构。另外,作者为了表达其对于这些研究者的模型的负态度,并炫耀其幽默感,在本句中使用了虚拟语气,并使用了fanciful 这个词以表示这些研究的不负责任、异想天开的幼童心理。