Calendars and Years

"Dates provide the backbone of written history. But where do these dates come from? Many different calendars were used in the ancient world. Some of these calendars were based upon observations or calculations of regular astronomical phenomena, such as the first sighting of the new moon crescent used to define the beginning of the month in many calendars. Others incorporated schematic simplifications of these phenomena, such as the 360-day year used in early Mesopotamian administrative practices in order to facilitate everyday accounting procedures. Historians frequently use handbooks and tables for converting dates in ancient calendars into the familiar BC/AD calendar that we use today. But very few historians understand how these tables have come about, or what assumptions have been made in their construction. The seven papers in this volume provide an answer to the question 'what do we know about the operation of calendars in the ancient world?' - and just as importantly 'how do we know it?'" "This book will be of interest to ancient historians, historians of science, astronomers who use early astronomical records, and anyone with an interest in calendars and their development."--BOOK JACKET.Steele, John M. is the author of 'Calendars and Years', published 2007 under ISBN 9781842173022 and ISBN 1842173022.