Hinglish

How Is Time Measured in History?

Class 6 Social Science · Chapter 4: Timeline and Sources of History · NCERT Exploring Society: India and Beyond section 4.2

Learn

Ishaan is making a project on his family. He draws a long line and marks: 1958 Dadi is born, 1985 Papa is born, 2014 Ishaan is born. "Now I can see the whole story at one glance!" he says. He has made a timeline.

Historians measure time in big blocks: a decade is 10 years, a century is 100 years, and a millennium is 1,000 years. The years 1901 to 2000 make the 20th century; we now live in the 21st century (2001–2100).

Most of the world today counts years from a starting point called the beginning of the Common Era (CE). Years before it are BCE (Before Common Era) and are counted backwards: 300 BCE came before 200 BCE. There is no year 0: 1 BCE is followed directly by 1 CE.

India also has its own calendars, such as the Vikram Samvat and the Shaka Samvat (the national calendar). Different calendars start counting from different events, but a timeline lets us place them all on one line.

Explore: move along the timeline.

  1. Put the marker at 1500 BCE.
  2. Now at 500 CE.
  3. Put it 1,000 years before 500 CE.

Remember

  • A timeline shows events in order; a decade is 10 years, a century 100, a millennium 1,000.
  • BCE years count backwards towards CE; there is no year 0.

Quick check

Which came earlier: 400 BCE or 100 BCE?

  1. 400 BCE
  2. 100 BCE
  3. They are the same year
  4. We can't tell
Answer

400 BCE. BCE years count backwards, so the bigger number is earlier.

Think about it

A pot was made in 200 BCE and found in 2000 CE. How old was it when it was found?

One answer

200 + 2000 − 1 = 2,199 years (we take away 1 because there is no year 0). Historians often just say "about 2,200 years old".

Practice

Practise with fresh questions at three levels (easy, medium, hard), some answered hands-on, with hints and worked answers. Get 4 of your last 5 right to finish the topic.