1.4 Time Matters

• History
• Middelbare school
• havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 1

1. The Age of Hunters and Farmers

1.4 Time Matters

What is this lesson about?

In history, it is very important to know when something happened and the order in which things took place. Historians have developed various methods to organise history, like timelines, calendars, periodisation and the ten ages.

What you can do after this lesson

• read a time line and different sorts of calendars
  
• calculate dates using BC and AD dates
  
• place dates in the correct centuries

Word Duty

Timeline: a long bar with labels on it to show in which year or period something happened

Decade: a period of ten years

Century: a period of a hundred years

Millennium: a period of a thousand years

Calendar: a way of organising the days, weeks and months of the year

AD: Anno Domini, the period after Jesus Christ was born

BC: Before Christ, the period before Jesus Christ was born

CE: Common Era, a neutral way of describing the period after Jesus Christ was born

BCE: Before Common Era, a neutral way of describing the period before Jesus Christ was born

Periods: a way of organising history into smaller timeframes

Ten ages: these are ten periods that are used to organise history used in the Netherlands

Stone Age: the time when prehistoric man mostly used tools made of stone

Bronze Age: the time when prehistoric man learned how to make objects of bronze

Iron Age: the time when prehistoric man learned how to make objects of iron

KEY WORDS

Timeline

When you study history, a timeline is a very useful tool. You can use it to understand the order in which certain events took place. A timeline is a long bar with labels on it to show in which year something happened.

A timeline can be divided in periods of ten years, in decades. It can also be in periods of hundred years, in centuries. Especially in this chapter, a timeline will cover a large period of time. Timelines can cover a period of a thousand years, hundreds of thousands or even millions of years. A thousand years is called a millennium. Also in this book, timelines are used to help you understand history better.

two examples of a history timeline.

Calendars

Time is also measured with the help of calendars. A calendar is a way of organising the days, weeks and months of the year. Not every calendar organises time in the same way. Some calendars are based on the rotation of the sun, while others use the moon to count the passing of time. To make things even more complicated, not every calendar has the same starting point.

Calendars are also used to count the passing of the years. In our western society, the Christian calendar is used most often. This calendar measures time from when Jesus Christ was born. There is of course a large part of history that happened before Jesus was born. This is everything that happened Before Christ, or BC. Everything that happens after Jesus was born is After Christ, or AD. BC is a very logical abbreviation. AD is a bit more complicated. AD comes from Latin and means Anno Domini, in the year of Our Lord.

Other calendars still being used are for example, the Chinese and the Islamic calendar, and the calendar from Judaism. As you can see, most of these calendars are based on religion.

A calendar the ancient Egyptians used. For the Egyptians, one year was 365 days. They had 12 months. Every month had 30 days (c. 3000 BC).

 A timeline in which you can see the correct use of the abbreviations BC / BCE and AD / CE.

This present-day Tunisian calendar shows you what date it is on three different calendars, so everyone can use it.

Organizing time

When you are studying history, you need to know why something happened, but of course also when something happened. 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 the 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. The age we live in is called the age of the television and computer. Every age also has a small logo to help you recognise it.

In studying history, another periodisation is used. You already know one of the periods: prehistory, the period this chapter is about. Other periods are Antiquity, the Middle Ages, the Early Modern Times and Modern Times. This periodisation is mainly used in western European history. The ten ages are only used in the Netherlands.

The ten ages.

Periods in Prehistory

Since prehistory is such a big time period, it is split into three smaller periods. The oldest period lasts until 2000 BC and is called the Stone Age. It was the time when prehistoric man used stone tools. These were the hunter-gatherers and the first farmers. Then came the Bronze Age, between 2000-800 BC. In this period, man discovered how to make objects and tools out of bronze. Bronze is a metal that is made of copper and tin. But these two metals are not found everywhere, so stone was still used a lot. The burial mounds that you saw in the previous section, date from the late Stone Age and the beginning of the Bronze Age.

The last period in prehistory is the Iron Age between 800-12 BC. In this period, prehistoric man learned how to create objects made of iron. Iron ore needs to be heated to a much higher temperature than bronze. It was harder to make iron objects, but they were also much stronger. This did not mean that stone or bronze objects were no longer used. Iron was a new type of material that was now also being used.

A timeline on which you can see the different ages of prehistory in our region.

Some objects that belong to the three ages of prehistory. Can you place them in the correct age?

Some people believe that you should use a more neutral basis for a calendar. They prefer to talk about the Common Era, CE or Before the Common Era, BCE. These are the periods before and after Christ was born.

1. Read Timeline. Write down the correct word to match the given description.

A. A period of ten years.

1. Read Timeline. Write down the correct word to match the given description.

B. A period of a thousand years.

1. Read Timeline. Write down the correct word to match the given description.

C. A period of a hundred years.

Read "Calendars". It says in the text that there are two ways to measure the passing of time. Mention both ways.

Read the following text and drag the words  to the correct place.

Lord

Jesus Christ

Before

Christian

AD

Anno Domini

BC

Jews

zero

Put the symbols of the Ten Ages in the correct order

World Wars

Citizens & 

Steam engines

Greeks & Romans

Discoverers & Reformers

Regents & 

Monarchs

Wigs & 

Revolutions

Hunters & 

Farmers

Cities &

 States

Television & Computers

Monks &

 Knights

Jagers en Boeren

Regenten en Vorsten

Grieken en Romeinen

Monniken en Ridders

Steden en Staten

Ontdekkers en Hervormers

Pruiken en Revoluties

Burgers en Stoommachines

Wereldoorlogen

Televisie en Computers

Drag each period (left) to the correct time period.

until 3000 BC

3000 BC - 500 AD

500 - 1500 AD

1500 - 1800 AD

1800 AD - now

Early Modern Times

Modern Times

Prehistory

Middle Ages

Antiquity

If someone wanted to sell you a coin with 23 BC on it,
would it be smart to buy it? Explain your answer.

Give an example to support this statement:
“The way we count time is influenced by the past.”

Prehistory is divided into smaller periods. What is the basis for this division? Choose the correct answer.

1. Whether the people could already write and read.
2. What type of material was used to make tools with.
3. How many people were living together in one place.
4. The way the society was organised.

Study the timeline below closely. The center is the year 1 AD. Drag the dates to the correct centuries. Three dates remain.

256 AD

317 BC

317

67 AD

289 BC

410 

44 BC 

183 BC

410 AD

192 AD

446 BC

10 BC

120 BC

120 AD

322 BC

16 BC

156 BC

60

70

80

26

74

2nd AD

1st AD

1st BC

2nd BC

3rd BC

4th BC

congratulations