You are here
- BCE years count backwards . A bigger BCE number is earlier .
BCE - Before Common Era
CE - Common Era
Numbers get
smaller
as time moves forward
Numbers get
bigger
as time moves forward
3000 BCE, 2000 BCE, 1000 BCE, 400 BCE, 300 BCE
1 CE, 1000 CE, 2026 CE
Earlier
Later
- The 3rd century BCE means 300-201 BCE, which comes after 400 BCE.
Worth remembering
More than 99 per cent of human history falls before writing - from about 3 million years ago to 5000 years ago. Almost everything we know about it comes from material evidence rather than from readable words.
Still true today
Emperor Ashoka gave the Brahmi script a fixed form in the 3rd century BCE. His pillars still stand across India.
1. What does
lipi
mean?
Show answer
Script
2. Which two early scripts have been deciphered, and which one has not?
Show answer
Cuneiform and hieroglyphic have been deciphered. The Harappan script has not
3. Is 400 BCE earlier or later than 300 BCE?
Show answer
Earlier - BCE numbers count backwards
When
What happened
About 3 million years ago
Start of the pre-writing period
About 5000 years ago
Writing begins; the historical period starts
About 400 BCE
Brahmi in use in southern India and the Ganga Valley
3rd century BCE (300-201 BCE)
Brahmi formalised by Emperor Ashoka
