B.C.E.
Secular ancient marker
B.C.E. stands for "before the common era," a secular alternative to B.C. (before Christ) for dating years prior to year 1 in the Gregorian calendar.
Academic and scientific publications often prefer B.C.E. and C.E. to avoid Christian-centric terminology: Alexander the Great died in 323 B.C.E.
The year numbering remains unchanged from the traditional system.
Great age, ancient era
- datingPursuing romantic connections
- timelineOrdered display of events
- calendarDate-tracking system
- epochDistinct historical period
era · periodization · millennia · centuries · timeframe · carbon dating · dendrochronology · stratigraphy
Study of physical remnants
- historiographyStudy of history-writing
- ancient historyStudy of earliest civilizations
- scholarshipEducational funding or erudition
- researchSystematic fact-finding effort
excavation · artifacts · primary sources · epigraphy · numismatics · journals · museum · curation
Earliest tool-making period
- neolithicFinal Stone Age period
- bronze ageNotable but subprime period
- prehistoricBefore documented civilization
- archaicBelonging to earlier times
cave paintings · megaliths · Stonehenge · hunter-gatherers · early humans · pottery · domestication · fossil record
Ancient southern Mesopotamian people
- EgyptiansNorth African Arab nation's people
- BabyloniansAncient Mesopotamian civilization
- AssyriansAncient Mesopotamian empire builders
- HittitesAncient Anatolian civilization
Persians · Phoenicians · Minoans · Mycenaeans · Greeks · Romans · Carthaginians · Mesopotamia
antiquity
Great age, ancient era
epoch · era · periodization · millennia · centuries · timeframe · carbon dating · dendrochronology · stratigraphy · relative dating
archaeology
Study of physical remnants
- historiographyStudy of history-writing
- ancient historyStudy of earliest civilizations
- scholarshipEducational funding or erudition
research · excavation · artifacts · primary sources · epigraphy · numismatics · journals · museum · curation · translation
paleolithic
Earliest tool-making period
- neolithicFinal Stone Age period
- bronze ageNotable but subprime period
- prehistoricBefore documented civilization
archaic · cave paintings · megaliths · Stonehenge · hunter-gatherers · early humans · pottery · domestication · fossil record · ice age
Sumerians
Ancient southern Mesopotamian people
- EgyptiansNorth African Arab nation's people
- BabyloniansAncient Mesopotamian civilization
- AssyriansAncient Mesopotamian empire builders
Hittites · Persians · Phoenicians · Minoans · Mycenaeans · Greeks · Romans · Carthaginians · Mesopotamia · pharaohs
antiquity
Great age, ancient era
- SocratesAncient Athenian questioning philosopher
- PlatoGreek philosopher, academy founder
- AristotleGreek founder of formal logic
Homer · philosophy · democracy · acropolis · amphitheater · agora · senate · republic · mythology · epics
B.C.E.C.E.
Secular anno domini alternative
A.D. · Common Era · CE · Anno Domini · AD