1) Eradication of the xx-00-yy Distortion
The notation xx-00-yy replaces the fragmented xx-BC-AD-yy format. Because the last second of the BC era must reach zero before the first second of the AD era can begin, the boundary must be treated as a strict mathematical axis in space—not the historical fantasies of a ‘Year 0’ or ‘Year 1’. The spaces on a timeline are bounded by tick marks placed at the start of BC years and the end of AD years. When these eras are added together, they produce an extra year, causing the ‘Two-Year Problem’. By anchoring annual intervals precisely at the mid-year point (1 July), the 1 BC and 1 AD tick marks sit exactly six months to the left and right respectively of this spatial zero, forming a true, unbroken one-year span. This coordinate-based approach allows historical intervals to be calculated seamlessly as pure linear distances across the epoch boundary (e.g. 64–00–27: 63.5 + 26.5 = 90 years), removing the traditional historical gap and aligning the site with astronomical year numbering and ISO 8601 protocols.
2) The 2000 Baseline (kya vs. BP)
The term kya (kilo-years, i.e. thousands of years ago) replaces the shifting term BP (Before Present). To avoid the arbitrary standard baseline of 1950, this site establishes the year 2000 as its fixed baseline, eliminating the intrusive 50-year discrepancy in conversions. For example, the Last Ice Age ended 11700 years ago, which translates to roughly 9700 BC—a transition marking the start of the Holocene. When deep-history dates are rounded to the nearest century, this 2000-1950 = 50-year baseline variance becomes functionally negligible within broader archaeological timeframes.
3) Four-Digit Dates
The thousands separator comma is omitted for all four-digit years. Dates are formatted cleanly without punctuation (e.g. 1066, 1453, 1492, 2026).
4) The 1223 BC Baseline & The Omission of ‘Circa’
The year 1223 BC marks the absolute threshold of human chronological precision, anchored by the Ugarit cuneiform tablet documenting a widely verified total solar eclipse. In truth, any reasonable absolute date around this horizon could be used to establish this boundary; 1223 BC is simply selected as the most astronomically acceptable anchor at this time. All dates prior to this threshold can only be measured by scientific instruments with inherent margins of error. Because measurement beyond this point inherently implies approximation, the prefix ‘circa’ (c.) is abandoned for all deep-history dates. Users will instinctively know that any date older than 1223 BC is an approximation (e.g. in Elamite Period: 3200–539 BC, 3200 is inherently approximate, while 539 is exact). Exceptions include tree-ring data. Likewise, while calibrated dates (cal. BC) can display a specific ± error margin, if that margin is omitted, the dates simply rejoin the deep-history dataset, where the absence of a ‘circa’ prefix correctly indicates they are inherently approximate. Note: This baseline standard is a recent editorial introduction; older articles across the website are currently being systematically updated to reflect this policy.
5) The Rejection of Material-Based Eras
The term ‘Roman Period’ is used exclusively in place of ‘Roman Iron Age’. Once basic metallurgy consolidated, the Roman epoch evolved far beyond raw material production; reducing a complex society to a single metal label oversimplifies its history. Consequently, this site rejects material-based terms for subsequent eras—such as ‘Migration Iron Age’ or ‘Viking Iron Age’—as these tags reduce massive human, societal, and seafaring movements to mere technological classifications.
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