How did people measure the years before our common era? Obviously they did not count down to -1 and then restart again at +1. What would they have called our 1500 B.C.? I also suppose that this will vary towards cultures, so I would be more interested in hearing the evolution from a European perspective.
HUGS!
Sqrl
Gasoline: As an accompaniement to cereal it made a refreshing change. Glen Baxter
The notable pre-CE calendars I can think of (Chinese, Roman, and Jewish) all had some benchmark date that they counted forward from.
In a interesting twist, the Christian calendar restarted the year numbering, but kept the months of the Roman Calendar.
Everybody got to elevate from the norm - Rush
The Roman calendar started from the (notional) date of the founding of the City, in about 758 BC if I remember correctly. So, for example, 1 AD was Year 759 to the Romans.