1.2 Time and Timelines

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• History
• Middelbare school
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• Leerjaar 1

1.2 Time and Timelines

Which Age do we study in this Unit?

What you will learn in 

this lesson

• how we measure time

• why we divide time into blocks

• why people use different calendars

• how we calculate with BC and AD

• universe: all space including all the stars and planets
  

• timeline: line showing the order in which events happened

• time period: a particular period in history

• millennium: a period of 1000 years
  

• century: a period of 100 years
  

• decade: a period of 10 years
  

• AD: Anno Domini (in the year of the Lord)
  the time after the year 1
  

• BC: Before Christ
  : the time before the year 1
  

Keywords

How many years is one century?

A

10

B

100

C

1000

D

50

In which century were you born?

A

19th

B

20th

C

21st

D

22nd

What is the oldest period in the past?

A

prehistory

B

middle ages

C

industrial revolution

D

world war 2

Measuring Time

People have lived on Earth for millions of years. We divide this long period of time into blocks. Prehistory is the first one. 

Prehistory 

Prehistory is the period in the past before people could write. 

People began to write at different times in different parts of the world. So prehistory ended earlier in some places than others. In Egypt it was about 5,000 years ago. In the Netherlands it was about 2,000 years ago. 

What is prehistory?

Why is it difficult to tell the exact year that prehistory ended?

Smaller blocks of time

We also talk about exact periods of time. The ones we most often use are:

• millennium - a thousand years

• century       - a hundred years

• decade        - ten years

Calendars

Calendars are one way to measure time. They give each year a number. 

The most widely used calendar is the Christian one. This counts backwards and forwards from when Jesus Christ was born. It counts forward from his birth, putting AD in front of the number. (AD stands for Anno Domini, Latin for 'the year of Our Lord'). We can leave AD out if the date is clearly AD. So we usually say the Vikings captured Walcheren in 837, not AD 837. 

The letters BC stand for 'before Christ. BC dates are counted back from the birth of Christ, so they get bigger the further back in time you go. 

With AD it is simple: 2003 is longer ago than 2013.

With BC it is the other way around: 2013 BC is longer ago than 2003 BC.

The Christian calendar is not the only calendar. The Muslim calendar dates backwards (BH) and forwards (AH) from the date Muhammad was driven out of Mecca. The year 622 AD in the Christian calendar is the year 1 AH in the Muslim calendar.

What century is the year 1111 in?

A

11th century

B

2nd century

C

12th century

D

111th century

What century is it?

We need to be careful when talking about centuries. 

The sixteenth century is not all the years beginning with 16- . It is 1500-1599. 

This is because the first century AD ends in AD 99. The years from AD 100-199 are the second century AD, and so on. 

The years BC work in the same way.

What century is the year 102 BC in?

A

2nd century BC

B

2nd century

C

10th century BC

D

11th century

What century is the year 1075 in?

A

11th century

B

10nd century

C

9th century

D

107th century

What does it mean if a date has no BC and no AD at the end?

A

the date can only be the year 0

B

the date is automatically BC

C

the date can be both AD and BC

D

the date is automatically AD

Which year belongs to the 20th century?

A

2005 AD

B

1930 BC

C

1966

D

2005

Which year belongs to the fifteenth century?

A

1492

B

1576

C

1430 BC

D

1688 AD

Which year belongs to the first century BC?

A

85 BC

B

103 BC

C

85

D

103

Organising History

A way of organising time is periodisation. History is split into smaller parts, in so-called periods. 

An example of periodisation is the way time is organised in Dutch history education: in ten periods, called the ten ages. In Dutch this means “de tien tijdvakken”. The name of each age is based on characteristics of that age. The age of prehistory is called the age of hunters and farmers, while the age when Columbus lived is called the age of discoverers and reformers. Every age also has a small icon to help you recognise it.

This is the symbol for "The Age of Hunters and Farmers". We also know this period as Prehistory.

We don't know exactly when this period started. But it ended around 3000 BC.

This is the symbol for "The Age of Greeks and Romans". We also know this period as Antiquity (= Oudheid).

This period lasted from around 3000 BC until 500 AD

This is the symbol for "The Age of Monks and Knights". We also know this period as the Early Middle Ages.

This period lasted from around 500 AD until 1000 AD

This is the symbol for "The Age of Cities and States". We also know this period as the Late Middle Ages.

This period lasted from around 1000 AD until 1500 AD

This is the symbol for "The Age of Discoverers and Reformers".

This period lasted from around 1500 until 1600.

The Age of Discoverers and Reformers belongs to the Early Modern Age, which lasted until 1800

This is the symbol for "The Age of Regents and Monarchs".

This period lasted from around 1600 until 1700.

The Age of Regents and Monarchs also belongs to the Early Modern Age, which lasted until 1800

This is the symbol for "The Age of Wigs and Revolutions".

This period lasted from around 1700 until 1800.

The Age of Wigs and Revolutions also belongs to the Early Modern Age, which lasted until 1800

This is the symbol for "The Age of Citizens and Steam Engines".

This period lasted from around 1800 until 1900.

The Age of Citizens and Steam Engines  belongs to the Late Modern Period , which lasted until 1945.

This is the symbol for "The Age of World Wars".

This period lasted from around 1900 until 1950.

The Age of World Wars  also belongs to the Late Modern Period , which lasted until the end of World War II (1945).

This is the symbol for "The Age of Television and Computer".

This period lasted from around 1950 until now.

The Age of Television and Computer belongs to the Contemporary History, which is the history that living people can still remember. 

It covers the period after the end of World War II (1945)

Write down one question about something from this lesson that you find difficult.