A few exercises with dates:
Place these dates chronologically on the timeline: 323 CE, 323 BCE, 100 CE, 100 BCE, 1900 BCE, 1090 CE, 2024 CE.
The chronological order from earliest to latest is: 1900 BCE, 323 BCE, 100 BCE, 100 CE, 323 CE, 1090 CE, 2024 CE.
If King Chandragupta was born in 320 CE, which century did he belong to? And how many years was that after the Buddha's birth?
King Chandragupta belonged to the 4th century CE. He was born approximately 879 years after the Buddha's birth.
Rani of Jhansi was born in 1828. Which century did she belong to? How many years was that before India's Independence?
Rani of Jhansi belonged to the 19th century CE. She was born 119 years before India's Independence.
Turn '12,000 years ago' into a date.
12,000 years ago from the present (approximately 2024 CE) corresponds to approximately 10,000 BCE (or more precisely, around 9977 BCE).
Explanation
(a) As explained on pages 4-5, BCE dates come before CE dates. For BCE years, larger numbers indicate earlier dates (further back in time). For CE years, larger numbers indicate later dates (more recent). Therefore, 1900 BCE is the earliest, followed by 323 BCE, then 100 BCE. After the transition point, 100 CE comes first, then 323 CE, 1090 CE, and finally 2024 CE. (b) As explained on page 6, centuries are counted from year 1 CE. The 1st century CE includes years 1-100, the 2nd century includes years 101-200, and so on. Therefore, years 301-400 belong to the 4th century CE. For calculating years between BCE and CE dates, the chapter states on page 5: 'add them but subtract 1.' Buddha's birth is approximately 560 BCE. So: 560 + 320 - 1 = 879 years. (c) The 19th century CE includes years 1801-1900, so 1828 falls in the 19th century. India gained Independence in 1947. Since both dates are in CE, we simply subtract: 1947 - 1828 = 119 years. (d) Using the formula from page 5 for calculating years between BCE and CE dates: if X BCE is 12,000 years ago from 2024 CE, then X + 2024 - 1 = 12,000. Therefore, X = 12,000 - 2024 + 1 = 9977 BCE. The timeline on page 5 shows that the end of the last Ice Age was around 12,000 BCE and the first settlements began around 10,000 BCE, which aligns with this calculation.