1998), and more generalized hierarchical merging (Beasley [et al. ]{}2002). The question that all of these scenarios address largely concerns the nature and time frame of merging or gas dissipation. Elements of all of these scenarios are supported by various studies of different facets of galaxy formation and evolution. For example, the supernova winds that some use to explain the suppression of star formation in dwarf galaxies at high redshift (Dekel & Silk 1986) has also been proposed as a possible mechanism for the truncation of metal-poor GC formation at early times (Beasley [et al. ]{}2002). Similarly, hierarchical merging models are often used to explain the mass assembly of present-day galaxies.

While most spheroid formation may have occurred in the past (at redshifts $z > 2$), present-day examples of recent merger remnants may give us a window onto this distant epoch. Locally, there is compelling evidence that some ellipticals have recently interacted or merged with another galaxy. Many ellipticals possess large-scale disks of gas and dust. Faint structure in the form of loops, shells, ripples, and tails are especially visible in the outer regions of ellipticals (Malin & Carter 1983), and are presumably the aftermaths of a recent interaction. One 