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An Alternative System of Chronology: The Holocene Calendar
An Alternative System of Chronology: The Holocene Calendar
December 14, 2019
An immortal man who turned water into wine and walked over the sea. And our entire calendar system is based on him. It’s kind of funny when you think about it. You might start to wonder if there’s a more sensible and science-based way to rethink our calendar. Something that wouldn’t require a complete overhaul. Well, there is. It’s called the Holocene Calendar. Let’s take a closer look at what it’s all about.
Proposed in 1989 by Cesare Emiliani, it doesn’t start with some religious event but instead with the beginning of the geological epoch of the Holocene, in which we currently live.
Origin and Basic Principle of the Holocene Calendar
So, Cesare Emiliani was an Italian geologist and paleontologist who came up with the idea in 1989 to base the calendar on geological facts. His goal was clear: To create a system free from any religious or cultural influences that would represent time more accurately. This led to the creation of the Holocene Calendar.
The concept is quite simple: You take the current year in the Gregorian calendar and add 10 000 years. Why exactly 10 000? Because that's roughly when the Holocene began. The epoch when the climate became stable enough for human civilization to develop. For example, the year 45 BC becomes the year 9956 Holocene Era (HE), the year 1 AD becomes 10001 HE, and 2020 turns into 12020 HE. This approach provides a much clearer and more straightforward representation of history, especially when thinking in larger timeframes.
Here are a few examples:
The year 9000 BC becomes 1001 HE
The year 6000 BC becomes 4001 HE
The year 755 BC becomes 9246 HE
The year 44 BC becomes 9957 HE
The year 1 BC becomes 10000 HE
The year 1500 AD becomes 11500 HE
The year 1700 AD becomes 11700 HE
The year 1850 AD becomes 11850 HE
The year 1900 AD becomes 11900 HE
The year 1950 AD becomes 11950 HE
Examples with historical events:
The beginning of World War I: 11914 HE
The beginning of World War II: 11939 HE
First man on the moon: 11969 HE
The start of the 21st century: 12000 HE
Important documented events in human history could be represented using a scale of increasing year numbers, making geological and historical dating much easier.
Why the Calendar Could Be Quickly Integrated into the Existing System
The Holocene Calendar could actually be implemented quite easily since future dates require only minimal changes. You simply add a "1" at the front. Additionally, it is scientifically and culturally neutral, as it doesn't rely on religious or cultural traditions. The biggest advantage, in my opinion, would be the chronologically ascending timeline, which would be especially practical for calculations into the past. There’s no need to add back to a positive when dealing with "before Christ."
Related Tool
With the Holocene Date Converter, you can convert dates from the Gregorian calendar to the Holocene calendar system.
Would you like to find out what date a specific day in the past corresponds to in the Holocene calendar? With my interactive tool, you can easily find out.
Closing Words
Unfortunately, the Holocene Calendar, like many other cool ideas (such as the Positivist Calendar or the Metric Time System), has never gained widespread acceptance. Existing systems are just too firmly integrated into our lives to be easily replaced.
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