Before Present (BP) years, or years before present is a time scale used mainly in archaeology, geology, and other scientific disciplines to specify when events occurred before the origin of practical radiocarbon dating in the 1950s.

What does BP stand for Archaeology?

B.P. – Before Present; used in age determination instead of B.C. or B.C.E. “Present” is academically defined as the year 1950 (the year when this term was invented).

What does BP and ad mean?

Dates can be expressed as AD, BC, BCE (before common era), and BP (before present).

What is BP instead of BC?

The present in BP is set at 1950, as this was close to when radiometric dating began to be used. Therefore a date like 3000 BP means 3000 before 1950 AD: in other words 1050 BC. As with AD and BC, the use of lower case bp usually means the date is uncalibrated, and upper case means calibrated.

What does BP mean in relation to time?

years Before the Present Updated January 25, 2019. The initials BP (or bp and rarely B.P.), when placed after a number (as in 2500 BP), means years Before the Present. Archaeologists and geologists generally use this abbreviation to refer to dates that were obtained through the radiocarbon dating technology.

What does BP in time stand for?

Before Present Before Present (BP) years, or years before present is a time scale used mainly in archaeology, geology, and other scientific disciplines to specify when events occurred before the origin of practical radiocarbon dating in the 1950s.

What does BP mean in medical terms?

The force of circulating blood on the walls of the arteries. Blood pressure is taken using two measurements: systolic (measured when the heart beats, when blood pressure is at its highest) and diastolic (measured between heart beats, when blood pressure is at its lowest).