The Indiana Jones Timeline / Chronology

Stoo

Well-known member
Crack that whip said:
There might be something forehead-smackingly obvious I'm overlooking (and man, will I feel like a doofus if there is - I mean, even more so than usual), but to me the closest thing to evidence of an earlier point in 1936 would be the content of Indy's lecture. Even for a very introductory level "Archaeology 101"-type course, I'd have to imagine it's early in the course if a basic term like "neolithic" is something Indy feels compelled to write on the board for emphasis :p ... but that's pretty shaky as grounds for setting a date.
Nice one and something I hadn't taken into account. Here's the score: Fall - 4 / Spring - 1.
(Oh, and you needn't worry about feeling like a doofus. We're all privy to that merely by posting here!:p)

Falcon said:
If it was November in Peru and at Marshall College, that may account for the spring weather in Peru, and snow at the college. Two different hemispheres, so the seasons are flipped. I've heard of accounts of snow on the ground in upstate New York as early as Halloween.
Hi, Falcon. Just to clear up some confusion, the spring weather I was referring to was for Marshall and not Peru.
You are right about snow sometimes as early as Hallowe'en. It can happen occassionally but is not the norm.
If it does snow, then it is very light and disappears quickly. What we see here was once a large pile of snow.
In any case, the trees are no longer green at the point (like they are in the film). With Montreal being right next
to the NY state border, this I something I can attest to.:D Marshall is supposed to be in Bedford, Connecticut,
a little farther south. I'v been to nearby NYC & Boston and the climate is generally the same.

I can't believe I'm going to ask this but...Any New Haven Raveners out there who could tell us how early/late
you start seeing the white stuff? What is your opinion on this patch of mysterious, melting snow?:eek:

DIrishB said:
I think its safe to say Raiders occurs over a month or two in late 1936. If we assume the prologue in South America occurs towards late August or early September, the college scenes and Indy's being told about the Ark occurring in late September or early October, and the rest of the movie playing out into November and December. Personally, I like to think everything happens between September to November, 1936.
Sounds good to me!(y) Thanks to yourself and Crack, my opinion has been swayed. The bridge, the magazine,
the Olympics and the spelling of "neolithic" collectively trump my snowbank theory.
Crack that whip said:
The Further Adventures of...? DIrishB has them there too, all together in a group, two lines after Raiders.
D'oh! Didn't see it. October 1936-January 1937. Only issues #31-34 take place in 1937 so that's a busy couple o' months for Dr. Jones!:eek:
(I have a funny, timeline gaffe to share about #4, by the way...)

Crack that whip said:
...Bullitt, Big Trouble in Little China, etc. - not to mention the BART locations for THX 1138)? But I do want to enjoy it fully, beyond the movie connections...
It is a very, cool city. I have visited L.A. a few times but prefer S.Francisco much, MUCH more!
Along w/the titles you mention, don't forget The Love Bug, Herbie Rides Again, Return From Witch Mountian,
Too Close For Comfort and the Planet of the Apes TV series!:p
 

Moedred

Administrator
Staff member
This is truly and excellent and handy list, DIrishB!
It might be hard to indicate Princess of Peril and Plantation Treasure are also foreign comics... it makes sense to indicate original versions of things. Sad to hear the Ultimate Guide gets so much wrong... it is wise to treat it secondarily. Also for reference, here's the grail diary if you haven't seen it. Keep up the good work!

Regarding the RPG's, do they encapsulate the plot in a few pages, dedicating the rest to characters, background and strategy? I always considered them not quite worth purchasing, but would love to read what they're about. If you have them, I'd also love to see a scan of the notorious "Nazi(tm)."

PS: What are "Adventures, Vol. 1 (December, 1930)" and "Lost Kingdom (October, 1935)"?
 
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Stoo

Well-known member
Moedred said:
This is truly and excellent and handy list, DIrishB!
It might be hard to indicate Princess of Peril and Plantation Treasure are also foreign comics... it makes sense to indicate original versions of things. Sad to hear the Ultimate Guide gets so much wrong... it is wise to treat it secondarily. Also for reference, here's the grail diary if you haven't seen it. Keep up the good work!
Apart from "Mountians of Superstition", the others are based on Young Adult novels so they've all been listed accordingly.
We're onto those stories like flies on ****! Yes, the content of Ultimate Guide is plentiful but a shame things are mixed up.

Moedred said:
Regarding the RPG's, do they encapsulate the plot in a few pages, dedicating the rest to characters, background and strategy? I always considered them not quite worth purchasing, but would love to read what they're about. If you have them, I'd also love to see a scan of the notorious "Nazi(tm)."

PS: What are "Adventures, Vol. 1 (December, 1930)" and "Lost Kingdom (October, 1935)"?
I'm not DIrishB, but you must have overlooked his great thread, Moe. Not to be missed!
Indiana Jones Adventures (RPG -WEG)

P.S.:
Adventures, Vol, 1 (December, 1930) is the recent, comic novelette. (Winter, 1930, Uppsala, Sweden)
Lost Kingdom (October, 1935) is a 1984, floppy-disc, computer game.
 

DIrishB

New member
Stoo said:
I'll start by saying, IMO, even though "Ultimate Guide" has it's share of gaffes, some dates fit better than "Lost Journal".

My previous post might have appeared a bit pompous but I dismiss the LIFE magazine since it was an acquired prop and not
created by the art/prop department. (Keep in mind they probably didn't care about these details when making "Raiders".)
The blurb in the link that Crackie posted did talk about a Berlin Olympics reference in the Young Adult Novel which I wasn't
aware of, so I'll give it that. The hardest film to peg down is "Raiders", without a doubt!:(
Take this as you please but I've always thought that "Raiders" begins in spring because there is a long patch of melting snow
in front of Indy's house! It looks like the final remnants of a snow bank thawing out on the sidewalk. In the 2 exterior shots,
there are no leaves on the ground and the trees are green with no signs of turning colour. (Typical of northeastern climate.)

Putting "Raiders" in the fall makes fine sense, too. Maybe it took place early enough (Sept) before the signs of autumn began.
The snow only shows that it was probably filmed during springtime. That is all. (Maybe the snow was some freak phenomenon?):p

House_Snow.jpg


Re: the Old Indy dates:
Germany, Mid-August 1916 actually aired in October but you are right in placing it as Sept. since it's coupled with the Somme episode.
The airdate I have for Florence is July 31st but where you have it is fine since that's the grey area between the end of the series and
the definitive placement of the Transylvania & Peking bookends.

Anyway, I'm really glad you crumbled and decided to add Old Indy to your chronology. About time, you crazy mo'fo'!:whip:
One other thing I noticed is that there are no Marvel stories in the list...Otherwise, everything is streamlined & sweet.
Extensive + Comprehensive = AWESOME!(y)

Yeah, I guess I just assumed it had been definitively retconned due to the Old Indy bookends not appearing on the DVDs. But, as said, I'm trying to make the timeline as comprehensive as possible, so it was stupid NOT to include them in the first place.

So yeah, they're there, now. They might need some minor re-arrangement, but they're there.

P.S. (EDIT)
Now that you bring up the Golden Gate Bridge, I bow to this.
(Just drove over it for the 1st time a few weeks ago!)

In terms of the snow on the ground, as you said, could be a freak snowstorm, a very early first snow of the year? Yeah, maybe its reaching, but I'm still trying to pin down that movie's dates as best as possible. You make a good point about not relying on the date of the Life Magazine, as well. Still, I like to place Raiders later in the year, especially if you believe that Temple of Doom occurs in December of 1935 (which I'm not completely sure of yet), having Raiders occur in Spring (at most 6 months after ToD) makes it seem like just too soon after Temple. Of course, thats a completely personal opinion, so theres no way to say it can't occur in Spring 1936.


Moedred said:
This is truly and excellent and handy list, DIrishB!
It might be hard to indicate Princess of Peril and Plantation Treasure are also foreign comics... it makes sense to indicate original versions of things. Sad to hear the Ultimate Guide gets so much wrong... it is wise to treat it secondarily. Also for reference, here's the grail diary if you haven't seen it. Keep up the good work!

Thanks. But it should be noted, a lot of the info was either drawn from existing Indy timeline material posted on the web, and more importantly by many of the members who have posted in this thread (and others on this forum). Its definitly a group effort, and I'll definitly keep updating it, expanding it where possible.

Regarding the RPG's, do they encapsulate the plot in a few pages, dedicating the rest to characters, background and strategy? I always considered them not quite worth purchasing, but would love to read what they're about. If you have them, I'd also love to see a scan of the notorious "Nazi(tm)."

Oh, I've got all the TSR modules, and almost all of the WEG books. I'll dig them out and try to get some pics taken for you.

The TSR RPGs from the 80's just adapted the first two movies and several stories from Marvel's Further Adventures of IJ comic. None featured original story material, but it did slightly expand on the story through its text adventure. Another plus of the TSR material was the 3D character cut-outs and vehicles, etc. Some had you building vehicles, mine carts (ToD style), and other environmental hazards. It was a lot of fun. It also used a red visor to make the text visible, so you could jump around the page (as required depending on your dice rolls) without spoiling future parts of the adventure. For an 80's RPG, it was well done, and is still a lot of fun to play. I have them all, so I'll dig them out and snap some pictures.

The WEG RPGs feature additional and new story material. Some of it ties into the movies themselves: "The Search for Nurhachi" serves as a prequel adventure to Temple of Doom, and "The Day of the Dark Light" serves as a psuedo-sequel; thers are completely original adventures. Some even tie into the novels: the IJ and the Sky Pirates and Other Tales book adapts several of the MacGregor and Caidin novels, and introduce two new adventures that tie into the Sky Pirates novel. Most of the adventures allow you to use Indy as your character, though it allows and encourages the creation of you own characters, and in a few missions even forces you to play as a character other than Indy. I would recommend them to most hard-core Indy fans, even if they don't play RPGs (which I don't). I consider them canon (slightly), on the same level as the Find Your Fate game books anyway.

PS: What are "Adventures, Vol. 1 (December, 1930)" and "Lost Kingdom (October, 1935)"?

Indiana Jones Adventures, Vol. 1

I enjoyed this. Great, Indy-like story, simple but fitting artwork. All around a great little digest.



Indiana Jones in the Lost Kingdom and a thread I made for it here on the forum.

Lost Kingdom is the first Indy video game to feature an original story (the second was Revenge of the Ancients). Its simple, but still worth an entry on the timeline.

Again, the goal is to be as comprehensive as possible. People can delete or ignore what they prefer, but completists like myself can also have a list of well...everything. In chronological order (or as close to it as possible). Its a work in progress, but its coming along nicely.
 

DIrishB

New member
Junior Jones said:
I recently found a nifty timeline-creation website called Dipity. I've started a basic Indiana Jones timeline, which you can view here. I haven't done a lot with it, but it seems easy to use so far.

I think it's possible to open it up for others to use and update, like a wiki, but with all the variations in Indy's timeline, I'm not sure if I want to do that yet. It may cause more trouble than it's worth.

Anyway, check out the site and post your comments here. If enough people are interested and we can agree to cooperate and get along, it would be nice to have a single community timeline. Otherwise anyone who's interested can create their own version.




Indiana Jones Timeline / Chronology


It took me a few days, but I translated the timeline here into one of those Dipity timelines. Its pretty cool. I added pictures to everything, along with short summaries/descriptions. I still need to find some specific screen caps for the Adventures of YIJ, and if possible for YIJC, and expand and re-write some of the summaries, but it looks pretty good so far.

It does have a few issues, however. There doesn't seem to be any way to control the relevance of an entry so that it appears at the top. Some RPG adventures are shown with their pictures while novels or episodes aren't. I can't do anything about that yet. There is a new version of Dipity coming out soon apparently, so hopefully it'll address those issues so everthing can get its rightful place in terms of canonical relevance. Preferably, I'd like it to have the movies and Adventures/Chronicles listed as the main entries, with full pictures, etc; then the video games, the novels and comics, the RPGs, etc.

It covers 1899-1993, from Indy's birth to the ending of the YIJC (Bookends). It has everything...as far as I know. I recommend viewing it in the "6 Month" View mode...even then some entries might be visible only as little flags at the bottom due to a large amount of entries in a given period of time.

If anyone has any links to some of those screen caps (most from Adventures, everything from YIJ Chronicles), or better suggestions on placements or summaries, post them here!
 
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DIrishB

New member
So I've been re-reading my Indy Omnibus', and I just finished Thunder in the Orient. I did a little research on the ancient port city of Ras Shamra (referred to as Bas Shamra on the first page of the comic), and found out it was discovered by a farmer in March, 1928, and then excavations were immediately undertaken and overseen by Ernest Schaeffler. Indy says this occurred 8 years ago when talking about Ras/Bas Shamra on the first page of Thunder in the Orient: "...ever since Schaeffer first dug up these tombs eight years ago." Schaeffler's name is also mis-spelled (missing the "L"). Anyway, this would place Thunder in the Orient in 1936, not 1938 as its listed on various Indy timelines across the web, including the Indy wikia. I'll change that on the next update I do. For more info on Ras Shamrah, click here.

So, yeah, Thunder in the Orient should occur in 1936, not 1938.
 
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Stoo

Well-known member
DIrishB said:
So, yeah, Thunder in the Orient should occur in 1936, not 1938.
Interesting and something I've always wanted to get to the bottom of. When the comic came out, I was tyring to place it but
couldn't find much info on "Bas Shamra" in those pre-internet days. Then I started to see the story dated as 1938 and didn't
bother questioning the year. Nice research, DIrish!

Continuity-wise, it makes more sense if "Thunder" takes place in '39 or later (after "Fate of Altantis") because of Sophia Hapgood's
presence but what can you do...

Here are the dates given in the new, "The Greatest Adventures of Indiana Jones" book for you to twist your brain around:

Doom: 12 June - 22 June, 1935
Raiders: 7 February - 23 April, 1936
Crusade: anytime before 23 May, 1938
Skull: c.17 September, 1957 - c.29 October, 1957 (On 29 Oct., Belloq Jr. writes, "I know Jones and Marion have plans,
as a friend has received an invitation this week." Of course, the invitation is dated 18 October, 1957!:rolleyes:)
 

DIrishB

New member
Plaristes said:
Oh no, not another story that takes place in 36! :eek: Did Indy ever sleep that year?

Only when traveling by plane! ;)

Stoo said:
Interesting and something I've always wanted to get to the bottom of. When the comic came out, I was tyring to place it but
couldn't find much info on "Bas Shamra" in those pre-internet days. Then I started to see the story dated as 1938 and didn't
bother questioning the year. Nice research, DIrish!

Thanks! I was having trouble finding info on it as well. I got lucky and stumbled on the Ras Shamra mention, while searching for the incorrect (apparently) Bas Shamra.

Continuity-wise, it makes more sense if "Thunder" takes place in '39 or later (after "Fate of Altantis") because of Sophia Hapgood's
presence but what can you do...

Agreed.

Here are the dates given in the new, "The Greatest Adventures of Indiana Jones" book for you to twist your brain around:

Doom: 12 June - 22 June, 1935
Raiders: 7 February - 23 April, 1936
Crusade: anytime before 23 May, 1938
Skull: c.17 September, 1957 - c.29 October, 1957 (On 29 Oct., Belloq Jr. writes, "I know Jones and Marion have plans,
as a friend has received an invitation this week." Of course, the invitation is dated 18 October, 1957!:rolleyes:)

Jeez! The only thing that makes me wary of placing Raiders in Feb - April is the fact the Temple of the Forbidden Eye ride takes place at least in June or July or 1936, but supposedly also occurs between Temple and Raiders. Of course, I hate to position the movies based on spin-off material, but the info from the movies themselves and the various guides is, as you know, quite contradictory. I am trying to find a way to make it work, though. I guess there isn't anything concrete that says Temple of the Forbidden Eye HAS to occur between ToD and Raiders, so I guess the problem is solved. Those dates will cause some other problems too, but I'll see if I can't work them out. Look for those dates to be reflected in the next update.
 

DIrishB

New member
Crack that whip said:
DIrishB, will you have access to the Blu-ray of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, with its timeline supplements?

Unfortunately, no. I'm picking up the regular version today after work, since I don't have a Blu-Ray player. So for anyone who does have a Blu Ray version and is willing to share that timeline info, it'd be very much appreciated. I assume those timeline supplements aren't on the regular DVD versions?
 

Crack that whip

New member
Right; they're exclusive to the Blu-ray edition. They're apparently like text / still annotation tracks for the movie. There are three of them - "Production," about the movie's long development and production, "History," which discusses real-world events that influenced (or perhaps are referenced in) the movie, and "Story," which discusses the movie's internal history, apparently including background info for the characters and the crystal skulls (is that redundant?). I have to assume the "Story" timeline (and, perhaps, the "History" one as well) is relevant to your (our?) endeavor.
 

DIrishB

New member
Crack that whip said:
Right; they're exclusive to the Blu-ray edition. They're apparently like text / still annotation tracks for the movie. There are three of them - "Production," about the movie's long development and production, "History," which discusses real-world events that influenced (or perhaps are referenced in) the movie, and "Story," which discusses the movie's internal history, apparently including background info for the characters and the crystal skulls (is that redundant?). I have to assume the "Story" timeline (and, perhaps, the "History" one as well) is relevant to your (our?) endeavor.

Definitely. If you're willing, those dates would be interesting to see! There's been so much material published lately with different placements for the movies, it'd be interesting to see how an actual Indy film release supplement fares.

And its a case of "our" project...its based primarily on other Indy timelines across the web so I can't take credit for that, and a lot of people here on the board have helped with placements, additions, etc. I just did the typing and research to verify (or change) dates as needed. Its definitely a group effort. (y)
 

Crack that whip

New member
DIrishB said:
Definitely. If you're willing, those dates would be interesting to see! There's been so much material published lately with different placements for the movies, it'd be interesting to see how an actual Indy film release supplement fares.

And its a case of "our" project...its based primarily on other Indy timelines across the web so I can't take credit for that, and a lot of people here on the board have helped with placements, additions, etc. I just did the typing and research to verify (or change) dates as needed. Its definitely a group effort. (y)

Oh, I'm willing, alright, but not able; I don't yet have a Blu-ray player, alas (though I do have a few Blu-ray discs, surprisingly enough). I hope to get a Playstation 3 when circumstances permit, but for the moment I'm not yet BD-enabled. But others here are...

Yes, I'm interested in contributing to this endeavor. It'd be great if Lucasfilm could just come up with something truly definitive (and consistent!). My ideal scenario would be for them to finally smooth out all the inconsistencies between various sources, lay out a comprehensive timeline for everything that sets (somewhat) precise dates for all undated or imprecisely dated ("1936," etc.) events and jibes with what's seen in the movies and shows, etc. (so, Raiders at the tail end of '36, because of LIFE, the Golden Gate, etc. ;) ), and then nail it all down and stick to it, and make sure all the ancillary publications adhere to it as well - and for reference works like the Ultimate Guide, actually correct the dates in later editions / printings, like any respectable reference work! :p Meanwhile, I'm all too happy to waste time helping establish the facts about a fictional character - I actually just began making my first small contributions to the Indy Wiki in the last couple hours, in fact. No life for me! :p
 

DIrishB

New member
I'll be posting another update soon (I like to wait to do it so it appears at the top of the pages). A few noticeable changes, some minor re-arrangements of some of the entries around the original movies, etc.
 

Junior Jones

New member
DIrishB,

In the interest of filling space so that your timeline can be at the top of a page, I'm going to ask a question I've been reluctant to bring up.

I've noticed that there are several differences between my timeline and yours, usually in cases when Indy's adventures don't specifically state when they took place (i.e. Instruments of Chaos, some of the "Find Your Fate" books, etc.). I'm in the process of reviewing and re-evaluating my own timeline and to be honest, I don't remember my reasoning for choosing many of the unspecified dates that I did.

I know that you've done a lot of research into Indy's adventures as well as actual historical research on things like Ras Shamra and the Battle of Monte Cassino. Do you have specific reasons for every date on your timeline, or are some of them just guesses?
 

Stoo

Well-known member
DIrishB said:
So for anyone who does have a Blu Ray version and is willing to share that timeline info, it'd be very much appreciated.
I bought the Blu-ray and will post the info when I get to it.:)
Junior Jones said:
I've noticed that there are several differences between my timeline and yours, usually in cases when Indy's adventures don't specifically state when they took place (i.e. Instruments of Chaos, some of the "Find Your Fate" books, etc.). I'm in the process of reviewing and re-evaluating my own timeline and to be honest, I don't remember my reasoning for choosing many of the unspecified dates that I did.
I've been meaning to mention for awhile that one of the differences between my timeline and DIrish's is that mine is by year rather than title.
This way, adventures that are mentioned/alluded to can be listed even though they do not have names. There are plenty but here are a few:

1909 June, Jerusalem (mentioned in "Treasure of the Peacock's Eye")
1911, New Orleans (mentioned in "Mystery of the Blues")
1929, Iceland (mentioned in "Fate of Atlantis")
1931, Kafiristan (mentioned in "Shrine of the Sea Devil")
1931 June, Madagascar (mentioned in "Temple of Doom"/date from "Ultimate Guide")
etc.
 
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