Everyone feels the passage of time. Stars and planets are moving in the universe, the hands of the clock are monotonously beating their rhythm, each of us is slowly moving forward along the corridor of time. Realizing their dependence on it, people have come up with many ways and number systems that help to streamline and calculate it. Various sciences, such as mathematics, physics, chemistry and history, would hardly have done without such an exact science as chronology. Perhaps the same can be said about dozens of other areas of research in which scientists have advanced far. So, what is chronology and why was it invented? The definition of this word can be found below. In addition, by reading this article, you will be able to better understand what chronology studies and understand which time calculation is best to trust, given the latest scientific discoveries.
What is chronology? Definition
Chronology (literally "the science of time") isdirection of research, which is defined as a sequence of events in history. What does the chronology of centuries as a science study? It explains how time is measured. There is a concept of "mathematical (astronomical) chronology". Such a chronology focuses primarily on changes in the positions of celestial bodies. The astronomical chronology of the world studies the patterns of celestial phenomena, systematizes them and arranges them. However, most often, chronology refers to the sequence of historical events. The main object that chronology studies is time. However, what is it?
What is time?
As we said at the beginning, time inevitably affects all people, but can anyone fully understand what it is? Apparently not. Like the infinite space in the universe, time is difficult to grasp with the mind. If time is like a river, then where does it start? Where is this stream going? One thing we know for sure: he always strives only forward. Time is difficult to understand, but it is possible to measure and organize events in the flow of time. The science of chronology studies these properties. The flow of time can be compared to the movement of cars in a one-way stream. The speed of buses and cars can change, but there is one thing that cannot be influenced - this is the direction of movement. The past and the future have always captivated the minds of people, but the only thing that is in our power is the present. True, if it is not used, then it becomes a thing of the past, and there is nothing we can do about it…
What is the past and the future?
To understand what chronology (which we defined above) is, it is necessary to understand what past and future are. The past is something that cannot be influenced, it is already history. Just as water that has flown down from sharp rocks and crashed on the ground cannot be turned back, so time cannot be turned back and made to flow in only one direction. The past is the main object that our science investigates. It sets out in a certain order the events that have taken place, which, like an imprint of a seal, will never change their form. The future is very different from the past. It does not move away from us, but flies towards us, and this time parameter is not available for chronology until it becomes real.
How time was measured and measured
Historical chronology is impossible without starting points that help measure time. Nowadays, the most common device for measuring time intervals is the clock. But you must admit that for a long time there have been huge time indicators, established by the one who laid the foundation for everything. Our planet with a certain periodicity rotates around its axis and around the star of our system - the Sun. Each of the planets revolves around their satellites, around ours - the Moon. All these celestial objects move with amazing accuracy. The same can be said about the atoms of some elements. It turns out that the whole Universe is a huge clock in which billions of galaxies with billions of stars, which, like huge gears, measure the passage of time. Before people came up with the science of time, a huge number of stars and planetsinvisibly measured his progress.
Which chronology is correct?
When keeping track of time and systematizing past events, people make a lot of mistakes. We cannot go back in time and interview those who lived thousands or hundreds of years ago, so a lot of research and archaeological excavations must be done to draw the right conclusions. Thanks to the scientific approach, you can learn a lot of interesting things, but among historians and archaeologists, disputes often arise about the sequence in which certain events occurred and from where the count should be taken at all. Let's consider two main points of view that scientific researchers have in this regard.
Chronology: Evolutionist opinion
Scientists who adhere to the theory of evolution suggest that life on the planet has existed for more than 4.5 billion years, and man has been on Earth for hundreds of thousands and even millions of years. Below is a list that clearly demonstrates scientists' belief that evolution is a science, not a theory.
-
Timeline of the centuries Prokaryotes (4 billion years ago).
- Organisms that could produce photosynthesis (3 billion years ago).
- Eukaryotes (2 billion years ago).
- Multicellular life forms (1 billion years ago).
- Arthropods (570 million years ago).
- First fish (ca. 490 million years ago).
- First plants (over 470 million years ago).
- First insects (over 400 million years ago).
- Amphibians (over 350 million years ago).
- Reptiles (more than 300 million yearsback).
- Mammals (over 200 million years ago).
- Flying creatures (over 150 million years ago).
- The extinction of land dinosaurs (over 65 million years ago).
- Complete human evolution (more than 200 thousand years ago).
- Death of the last Neanderthal (more than 25 thousand years ago). The name comes from the valley in Germany where the alleged remains of these ape-men were found. This theory is less and less accepted by scientists due to the lack of significant archaeological finds, and astronomer Fred Hoyle says that there is no evidence that the Neanderthal was lower in development.
Determining the age of matter using radioactive analysis
However, the chronology of life is not recognized by many scientists due to the fact that the use of the method of radioactive decay has a huge error. The whole problem is that the rate at which radioactive carbon was formed in the past was not the same. Using this method, it is possible to accurately determine to which period of time this or that object found by archaeologists belongs only up to two or three thousand years BC. e. The conclusions that are obtained as a result of studies of the lower layers of the soil should not be trusted.
New Chronology (Biblical Chronology)
Recently, there have been many scientists who agree with the opinion that humanity is only a few thousand years old. The book The Fate of the Earth says that only six or sevenThousands of years ago, a civilization arose that eventually developed into humanity. But the English researcher Malcolm Muggeridge says that compared with the views of evolutionists, what is written in Genesis (the first book of the Bible) sounds quite reasonable. After that, he added that the ancient book tells about real historical figures and events that really happened. In his opinion, such a pursuit of theory, not based in any way on facts, is due to the usual recklessness of people and will undoubtedly surprise future generations. The paleontological record proves that all species did not appear over a long period of time, but suddenly, over a short period of time. In addition, all historical records made by humans date back to the last few thousand years. In other words, not a single written document, rock engraving or anything else has been found that would prove that people have lived on Earth for millions of years. Interestingly, biblical archeology fully confirms these scientific conclusions.
Base for maintaining such a chronology
What is the basis of the chronology of time, which is calculated in accordance with the above conclusions? Much evidence can be cited in favor of the fact that the history of mankind is only a few thousand years old, and that the biblical events really happened. For example, one can compare chronology with another science, which is also deeply rooted in the past - with linguistics. Scientists who study the history of languages claim that all ancient languages were much morecomplex in structure than modern ones, and not vice versa. This refutes the theory of ape people, who, allegedly, could not connect two words and gradually learned to speak. How could such a huge intellectual leap happen?
Fundamental dates
The chronology of events is based on the main fundamental dates. What are important historical dates? These are starting points, calendar events, the accuracy and reliability of which is beyond doubt. If we have such information, then we can easily establish the time of other events that we read about on clay tablets, ostraca, or in biblical scrolls. Consider an example of such a date. Take the destruction of Babylon by the Medo-Persians led by Cyrus. Using the chronicle of Nabonidus, historians have found that this event took place on October 11, 539 BC. e. Or if you count according to the Gregorian calendar, then October 5 of the same year. By using the scriptural reference to this event, one can easily correlate the facts with secular history and determine exactly when other important events mentioned in the Old Testament took place. Thus, it is possible to determine the date of the beginning of the Great Flood or the appearance of the first people. The following is the chronology of mankind according to the Bible.
Chronology in terms of Scripture
- 4026 BC e. - Creation of the first people.
- 3096 BC e. - death of Adam.
- 2970 BC e. - the birth of Noah.
- 2370 BC e. - Global Flood.
- 2269 BC e. - construction of the Tower of Babel.
- 2018 BC e. - birthAbraham.
- 1600 BC e. - Egypt is gaining strength and becoming a world power.
- 1513 BC e. - Israeli exit from Egypt.
- 1107 BC e. - Birth of David.
- 1037 BC e. - beginning of Solomon's reign.
- 632 BC e. - the capture of the Assyrian capital Nineveh.
- 607 BC e. - the victorious campaign of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar against Israel and the destruction of Jerusalem.
- 539 BC e. - the capture of Babylon by the Medes and Persians.
- 2 BC e. - the birth of Jesus Christ.
- 29 AD e. - the beginning of the ministry of Jesus Christ (lasted 3.5 years).
- 33 AD e. - the death of Christ.
- 41 AD e. - written the first gospel of Matthew.
- 98 AD e. - Bible writing completed.
- 1914 AD e. - the beginning of the First World War, the change of the calendar system.
Many of these historical events are confirmed by modern history. Many archaeologists use the Bible as a good reference for excavations. Moreover, as we said earlier, comparison with fundamental dates helps to check the accuracy of each of them. The study of this question makes it clear what chronology is. It is up to the researcher, the person who studies history, to determine which chronology is correct.
Use of abbreviations - BC or BC. e
Based on the list that was given above, we can come to another curious conclusion. If Jesus Christ was born in 2 B. C. e.,then the use of abbreviations that were so often used before, such as "R. Kh." and "before A. D." is wrong. In addition, Christ could not be born in the year 0, because such simply did not exist. After 1 B. C. ended. e., the year 1 A. D. immediately began. e. The fact that the abbreviation for "before the birth of Christ" does not correspond to the actual date of Jesus' birth was one of the reasons why it is no longer used. In addition, perhaps the abbreviations for the phrases "BC" and "AD" have become more official and scientific.
The role of the Julian and Gregorian calendars in chronology
People invented a calendar for the convenience of counting time. On the basis of what people came up with such number systems? Calendars were usually based on natural phenomena, such as the movement of the planets and the change of seasons. It turns out that we only systematized the course of time, which nature has long counted. For comparison, here are two calendars invented by people - this is the Julian calendar, established by Julius Caesar, and the Gregorian. The first was introduced in 46 BC. e. It was oriented towards the Sun and replaced the lunar calendar. According to him, three years had 365 days, and every fourth - 366. The calendar has become an achievement and has been used for many centuries. The new chronology of Russia, Europe and America fit perfectly. Why was it abandoned? Over time, it turned out that this number system turned out to be imperfect. According to Juliancalendar, the duration of its year was about 11 minutes longer than the solar year. The Julian calendar was no longer perceived as a "new chronology": it suited Russia well, but by the 16th century, ten extra days had accumulated, with which something had to be done. Pope Gregory XIII replaced the Julian calendar with the Gregorian calendar. According to this new number system, the account was moved forward by ten days. In addition, pundits have decided that those century years in which the number of hundreds is not divisible by four will not be considered leap years.
Chronology as a science: how does it concern us?
So, from this article we could see what a chronology is. The definition and subject of science were discussed at the very beginning of the article. We hope that our readers have a better understanding of the meaning of the flow of time and the ways in which it is measured. On the basis of sufficient evidence, we have been able to see that the chronology proposed by the theory of evolution does not correspond to modern scientific discoveries. Reflecting on the statements of scientists, many now understand that our existence on this planet is not so long as previously thought. In addition, our article helps to trace the history of the development of chronology as a science, the features of the formation and modification of time counting, the desire of people to constantly improve the "flow of time". In turn, the considered facts convince us that such a book as the Bible is trustworthy, and natural time counters - planets and stars - are moremore accurate than any man-made. Doesn't chronology as a science prove that there is Someone who, from the very beginning, organized everything so that we could count time? And don't we admire the structure itself and the incomprehensibility of time? Indeed, historical chronology is an interesting science, the study of which not only expands our horizons, but also allows us to look beyond the veil of history.
