What does the acronym AM stand for when referring to time line dating and how does it convert into BC or AD equivalents?

Answer 1

Nothing, AM does not have any correlation to AD or BC. Those are calendar references only. AM stands for Ante Meridian, (Latin), meaning Before the Meridian. PM stands for Post Meridian meaning After the Meridian. They are only used for time references on the 12 hour clock, (as opposed to the 24 hour clock in which they are not used). It is only a reference to the time of Apparent Noon at the Standard meridian for the Time Zone you are occupying. Therefore AM means before Noon, and PM means after Noon.

Apparent Noon is defined as the time when the Sun reaches it's highest point in the sky for that DAY. As opposed to the Equinoxes and Solstices which refer to the Highest, Lowest, and Equatorial points of the Sun's YEARLY Travels in Earth's sky. The Sun appears to travel in a 47 degree arc through our sky as the year progresses due to the tilt of the Earth's axis, (23.5 degrees), from the plane of the solar system. Which is also the cause of Earth's seasons.

I believe the question is referring to the ancient form of time-keeping. AM refers to "Anno Mundi", which literally means "time from creation". Im not quite sure how to convert AM time-keeping to BCE time-keeping, however, you can learn more about Anno Mundi on Wikipedia.