| A | B | 
| decade | a period of 10 years | 
| century | a period of 100 years | 
| age | a long period of time marked by a single cultural feature | 
| era | a long period of time marked by great events, developments, or figures | 
| ancient | very old, or from a long time ago | 
| circa or c. | a word used to show that historians are not sure of an exact date; it means about | 
| B.C. | before the birth of Christ | 
| A.D. | after the birth of Christ | 
| BCE | another way to refer to BC dates; it stands for "before the common era" | 
| CE | another way to refer to AD dates; it stands for "common era" | 
| history | study of the past | 
| prehistory | time before there was writing |