Terminus Post Quem / Ante Quem
Definition
Latin terms for the earliest possible date (TPQ) and latest possible date (TAQ) of an event, derived from contextual or artefactual evidence. Combining both sets a date range for the burial event.
- TPQ meaning
- Earliest possible date of an event
- TAQ meaning
- Latest possible date of an event
- Evidence source
- Contextual or artefactual dating
- Combined result
- A bounded date range for a burial event
Common questions
Where does the TAQ come from if the grave has no upper date marker?+
A latest possible date is often set by an external event instead of an artefact, such as when the land was last documented as undisturbed, when a structure was built over the site, or when the case was reported missing.
Why is a range more useful than a single estimated date?+
A bounded range is defensible in court because it rests on physical evidence rather than estimation, and it lets an investigator cross-check the range against a missing-persons timeline without overstating precision.
Related terms
- CPR Part 35 (England and Wales)
- The Civil Procedure Rules Part 35 that governs expert witnesses in civil proceedings in England and Wales. The equivalent for criminal proceedings...
- Factual Section
- The portion of a forensic report that records observed data without interpretation: dimensions, photographs, context descriptions, sample inventory, analytical raw results. This...
- FRE 702
- Federal Rule of Evidence 702, the US statutory basis for expert testimony admissibility. Amended in 2000 and again in 2023 to reflect...
- Interpretive Section
- The portion of the report where the expert explains what the facts mean: the mechanism that created the observed pattern, what the...
- Site Archive
- The complete record of a forensic excavation: field notebooks, context sheets, photographic record, sample register, finds catalogue, and digital survey data. In...