Back in my archaeology days, I was taught to read B.P. as "Before
Physics," meaning, of course, the physics of radiocarbon dating,
developed in 1950.  I wouldn't doubt that B.P. start off as "Before
Present," but that it didn't take too long for someone to figure out
that in order to maintain the accuracy of "Before Present" dates, they
would have to be adjusted yearly.

As far I as know, B.P. has always referred to "before 1950," and always
will--it'd really throw off the last five decades of archaeological
writing if the reference date for "B.P." were changed now!



------------------------------------------------------------
Tim McShane, Assistant--Cultural History
Medicine Hat Museum and Art Gallery
1302 Bomford Crescent S.W.
Medicine Hat, AB   T1A 5E6
(403) 502-8587

>>> [log in to unmask] 08/08/02 02:46PM >>>
Actually, BP was a product of C14 dating which used a standard of "# of
years before 1950".  So it's about 52 years out of date and I'm not sure
if it's been adjusted yet.

"B.P. was added to the mix in the 1950s by some researchers as a
reference related to early carbon dating of fossils and artifacts. B.P.
stands for Before Present, where the present is, logically enough, 1950.
Huh? Yeah, 1950. That's no typo. So 50 BP is actually 1900 AD. Are
things getting weird enough for you yet?" from
"An Illustrated Speculative Timeline of Future Technology and Social
Change" by J.R. Mooneyham < http://www.jrmooneyham.com/spdat.html>



Donna Stubbs, RPA                  HDR Engineering, Inc.
Archaeologist                               6190 Golden Hills Dr.
(763)591-5442                             Minneapolis, MN  55416
mailto: [log in to unmask]

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).