Legal Definitions - AAC

AAC stands for Anno Ante Christum.

This Latin phrase translates to "Year Before Christ" and is a dating convention used to specify years prior to the traditional year of Christ's birth. It is equivalent to the more commonly used "BC" (Before Christ) or "BCE" (Before Common Era) and is primarily found in historical, archaeological, or theological texts to denote ancient timeframes.

Here are some examples illustrating the use of AAC:

• Example 1: Ancient Engineering Marvel

  Historians often refer to the construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza as having been completed around 2560 AAC. This indicates that the monumental structure was finished approximately 2,560 years before the traditional start of the Common Era, highlighting its incredible age and the advanced capabilities of ancient Egyptian civilization.

• Example 2: Philosophical Foundations

  The life of the Greek philosopher Socrates is generally placed between 470 AAC and 399 AAC. This timeframe helps scholars understand that his profound contributions to Western philosophy occurred several centuries before the Common Era, influencing thinkers and societies for millennia thereafter.

• Example 3: Early Agricultural Practices

  Archaeological evidence suggests that the earliest known pottery in Japan, associated with the Jomon period, dates back to approximately 10,000 AAC. This usage of AAC helps researchers pinpoint when complex human settlements and early agricultural or hunter-gatherer practices began to emerge in that region, long before the advent of recorded history in many other parts of the world.