Re: What does the abreviation B.P. stand for in dating an object?

Hi Reed --

Your question was a little difficult to research because your friend used it incorrectly. Put simply, B.P. Stands for Before Present. However, it is generally used in Geology, especially Paleontology (I finally found the definition in my Invertebrate Paleontology book.)

The correct usage would be XXXX m.y.b.p. or "So many Millions of Years Before Present." Many times it is replaced with m.y.a -- Millions of Years Ago.

By saying your painting "looks like something from 30,000 m.y.b.p." , he/she was implying that it looked 30,000 years old... Cave Art basically.

FYI -- I think "Present" is defined as a certain specific time, such as Midnight, Jan 1, 1900 or something to that effect, but I couldn't find anything.

Matt Brown
Programmer, Training Labs, Inc. / Shadow Corp.
http://www.tarimar.com/mattkb
mattkb@tarimar.com