Documenting Your Collections
Info-Muse Network Documentation Guide

Les guides électroniques de la SMQ

Begin Date (Dating)

Field used for ethnology and history collectionsField used for fine and decorative arts collectionsField used for science and technology collectionsField used for archaeology collections (object data and site data)Société des musées québécois Info-Muse database field

Definition:

  • This field contains the date on which work to create or manufacture the object was started.

Observations:

  1. N.B.: This field is used only when the begin date is known.
  2. This field is used in conjunction with the End Date field.
  3. If only one date is known, enter the information in the End Date field and leave the Begin Date field blank.
    Example

    Record for a Peruvian metal plate from 200 AD

      Object Name plate
     Materialmetal
     CulturePeruvian
    Begin Date 
     End Date 0200
  4. If a range of dates is known, enter the oldest date in the Begin Date field and the most recent date in the End Date field.
    Example

    Research showed that a pot may have been made between 850 and 725 B.C.

      Object Namepot
    Begin Date-0850
     End Date -0725

Entry rules:

  1. Enter the begin date in the form YYYY (Y for "year").
    Example

    Begin Date1025
  2. If the begin date has fewer than four digits, you may add zeros to simplify the production of lists.
    Example

    Begin Date0050
  3. If the month and day on which production began are known, enter the information in the form YYYY dash MM dash DD, in numbers only (Y for "Year," M for "Month" and D for "Day").
    Example

    Begin Date 1951-12-22
  4. Use the abbreviation "c" (for circa) when the object may have been produced within a period of five years before or five years after the date indicated. Enter the date followed by a space and "c".
    Example

    Begin Date1340 c
  5. Use the abbreviation "L" (for "later than") if the object could have been produced no earlier than the date shown. Enter the date followed by a space and "L".
    Example

    Begin Date 0200 L
  6. If you are unsure whether your information is correct, include a space and a question mark after the date.
    Example

    Begin Date0800 ?
  7. BC dates should be preceded by a minus sign "-".
    Example

    Begin Date-2500
  8. To delimit a century or part of a century, you may use the Begin Date and End Date fields as follows:1
    Example 1

    An object produced in the 10th century

    Begin Date 0900 L
     End Date 0999 P
    Example 2

    An object produced in the early 10th century

    Begin Date 0900 L
     End Date 0925 P
    Example 3

    An object produced in the mid-10th century

    Begin Date 0925 L
     End Date 0975 P
    Example 4

    An object produced in the late 10th century

    Begin Date 0975 L
     End Date 0999 P
    Example 5

    An object produced in the 1530s

    Begin Date 1530 L
     End Date 1539 P
  9. This field may not contain more than one entry.

 
  1. In 1992, this convention was based on the convention used at the Musée du Québec.
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