Someone once told me that the discrepancy in years could be related to the culture at the time.
Their consideration was that in those times, seasons were very important.
Years could mean seasons.
This would cause a ratio of at least 4:1, sometimes more because in-season climates have variances.
The Nile floods twice in 2 months.
There are multiple crop yields in 4 months.
Global weather patterns move cold air south, warm air north multiple times during a year.
That kind of thing.
At that time, the scientific knowledge we have now was unthinkable.
A solar eclipse even disrupted their day/night schedule.
(and the day turned to night, then it was day again).
Did the solar eclipse register as two days in one? or... was it a given that it was two days?
If anything, days are getting longer which means years are getting shorter.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/earth-rotation-summer-solstice/
In southern Australia, for example, these vertically accumulating tidal "rhythmites" have pegged an Earth day at 21.9 hours some 620 million years ago. This equates to a 400-day year, although other estimates suggest even brisker daily rotations then.
Researchers have extrapolated orbital paths back 32 centuries, demonstrating that if Earth's rotation rate had not changed, eclipse shadows would have appeared thousands of kilometers from Chinese scribes who etched astronomical observations into animal bones. The math indicates that days now are 0.047 second longer than they were in 1200 B.C.
This causes me to think that 'age in years' was determined by 'other' means.
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/265578067_Did_People_in_the_Past_Live_Longer
This is an abstract that requires payment to view the whole paper.
Sorry, but I'm not paying...
Here is the abstract in short:
Reports from different fields of research are uncovering an ancient genetic mechanism that produces superlongevity. A recent discovery at Harvard Medical School now appears to confirm and weave together observations and experiments conducted in the fields of radiation biology, earth history, aging and genetics, to reveal a master mechanism of aging, a "biological clock" as they say. Geneticists who study human aging now believe there are a number of mild biological stressors, ranging from calorie restriction, low-dose radiation or even high atmospheric oxygen concentration, which can turn on a genetically-controlled survival switch within living cells. There is also a dietary factor that can mimic the life-prolonging effect of calorie restriction.
Its my opinion that even with a "genetically-controlled survival switch within living cells" the accounting of lifespans is inaccurate to reality.
The accounting is of 'perceived years', not 'actual' years.
Edited by
Tom4Uhere
on Sun 06/10/18 10:30 AM