What About Those Dates?

Hall of Life—Human Exhibits

on June 20, 2016

When looking at human artifacts dated 10,000 BC, or reading about the history of the Aborigines from 40,000 BC, keep in mind that these “ages” are based on many assumptions. In some cases, the ages stem from a dating method known as “Carbon-14.” However, as shown elsewhere (see pages 165–167), radioisotope methods do not yield reliable results without being properly interpreted.

In other instances, the dates given result from a civilization’s chronology of the past (for example, the Sumerian King List, China’s dynasty and emperor list, Egypt’s list of pharaohs). Again, historians have made many assumptions about these chronologies (for example, assuming that leaders never ruled at the same time), yielding greatly inflated dates. However, as historians and archaeologists continue to study these lists, they have realized that the ages of the civilizations should be reduced, bringing them in line with a biblical timeframe.

As you read about these dates, keep the following Bible-based timeline in mind.

4004 BC	The first humans were created.
2348 BC	Noah and his family were the only survivors of the global Flood. Because of the worldwide destruction of the Flood, we wouldn’t expect to find much, if any, archaeological evidence from before this time.
ca. 2247 BC	The people began to disperse from the plain of Shinar (located in present-day Iraq).
2234 BC	Babylon begins.
2188 BC	Egypt is founded by Mizraim, son of Ham. It was after this time that the pyramids were built.
2089 BC	Greece begins.