Timelines+and+chronology

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 * archaeol questions for Dr. dig **
 * What is the difference between B.C., A.D., B.C.E., and C.E.?**

The Christian world measured time and numbered the years using the birth of Jesus Christ as the year 0. B.C., which stands for "Before Christ," is used to date events before the birth of Jesus. A.D. is short for the Latin phrase //anno Domini,// which means "in the year of our Lord," and is used for dates after Jesus's birth.

This system of dating has been used for many years by Western archaeologists. Today, however, people realise that not all scholars are Christians, and so some archaeologists prefer to use the terms: Before the Common Era (B.C.E.) and the Common Era (C.E.), which are exactly the same as B.C. and A.D. but have nothing to do with Christianity.

B.P. is sometimes used as a short form of "Before the Present time." Thus a person might say "600 years B.P." meaning "600 years before the present time."

Most people, though, just say "600 years ago."

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