160 THE EARLIEST MEN 



And, we may add, that it is important that these 

 three should not be confused with one another. 

 Let us briefly consider each of them. Historical 

 Time is the chronology of recent events capable 

 of being set down in actual, definite, incontrover- 

 tible (usually) figures. Thus the Battle of Senlac 

 took place in A.D. 1066, and the Declaration of 

 Independence on July 4th, 1776. With facts of 

 this kind we have nothing to do in this paper, 

 but with certain chronological problems, and 

 notably with that of the so-called Ussherian chron- 

 ology we shall find ourselves concerned in a later 

 section. Meantime it may not be without interest 

 to consider how far back we can safely go in actual 

 historical chronology. As far as records go, Egypt 

 and Babylonia afford us the best chance, and of 

 these Egypt is perhaps the better known example. 

 Now in the history of that country, we can tread 

 with security as far back as the conquest of Alex- 

 ander (B.C. 332). But that period, need it be said ? 

 is only as yesterday in the long history of this 

 earth, or even of the history of man upon it. 

 From Alexander backwards to the commencement 

 of what is known as the First Dynasty, our path 

 becomes less certain. There is a kind of a chron- 

 ology, but how uncertain and indefinite that is 

 may be gathered from the fact that the dates 

 assigned for the commencement of the First 

 Dynasty vary from B.C. 3315 to B.C. 5510, and that 

 one of the leading authorities (Petrie), who in 

 1894 fixed the date as 4777, has felt himself com- 

 pelled by further evidence to change his opinion, 

 and assign B.C. 5510 as the proper date (in 1906). 



