So I’ve tried googling this before and I am still so stupid and confused like my brain cannot wrap around how to read these different abbreviations for time and what they actually mean.
The easiest is B.P. (Before present/1950) because I can just do the calculation to turn that into C.E. (Current Era – so like saying 2023 CE is right now, right?), but how do these ways of expressing time translate to one another?
Like for example, A.D. (“in the year of the lord”, but does this translate to C.E.? Are these the same?) 500 vs 500 B.C. (Before Christ? I’m not religious so idk what this really means irl). How are these different and how do they translate into B.P. And C.E. terms? How can I remember which one to use? Explain it to me like I’m 5 and like it’s my first day on the fucking planet. Thank you!
In: 54
AD (Anno Domini) is essentially the years we have now (2023). Anything before 2023 years ago is BC (Before Christ), and it is counted backwards. For example, 2024 years ago would be 1 BC. CE (Common Era) and BCE (Before Common Era) are just alternative names for AD and BC, and they translate exactly. For example, AD 1996 would be 1996 CE.
Edit: BP (Before Present) is used mostly in carbon dating, where the P is Jan 1, 1950 when carbon dating became prevalent, and is also retroactive (e.g., 1900 would be 50 BP).
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