Dating the Past

So easy a “Caveman” could do it!

Gregorian Calendar Used world wide to keep track of time Replaced an old Roman calendar which had errors Based on the birth of Jesus Christ

B. C. and A. D. B. C. = Before Christ A. D. = “Anno Domini” (in the year of our Lord)

B. C. and A. D. Continue B. C. dates are in descending order, meaning that they get smaller as they get closer to modern day. The larger the number the farther away from today and the earlier in history the event occurred. These dates must have B.C. after them to identify them as “pre-history”.

B. C. and A. D. Continue A. D. dates are in ascending order, meaning that they get larger as they get closer to today. These dates do not need the A.D. after them since they are understood to be moving toward modern day.

B. C. E. and C. E. B. C. E. means “before the common era” C. E. means “common era” Historians changed to these designations for a more politically correct way of dating world events. B. C. = B. C. E. A. D. = C. E. Both methods will be seen throughout this course.

Measuring Time Decade: Century Millennium: Period of 10 years (HINT: decathlon = 10 events) Century Period of 100 years (HINT: 100 pennies = $1.00) Millennium: A period of 1,000 years

Naming Centuries Always 1 number larger since the 1st century refers to the years 1 – 100. Example for A.D./C.E.: 2nd Century = 101-200 19th Century = 1801-1900 Example for B.C./B.C.E.: 1st Century BCE = 100 BCE – 1 BCE 20th Century BCE = 2000 BCE – 1901 BCE

What period of time does this sign represent? 1901 - 2000

What century are we in right now? 21st Century

The 21st Century The year 2000 was the last year of the 20th century and NOT the beginning of the new millennium …the new millennium began in 2001.

The End…..or is it????