"to" = "as"

[Arnold M. Zwicky]

On Jul 26, 2005, at 4:56 AM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:

> Can such things be ?
>
> BBC News, May 4, 1999  [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/
> 334517.stm] :
>
> "They were carbon-dated to 3300-3200 BC. This is about the same
> time, or slightly earlier, to the primitive writing developed by
> the Sumerians of the Mesopotamian civilisation around 3100 BC."


well, this "to" for "than" (cf. "different from/than/to") astonished
me.  but here's some more, with "are earlier to":

Most scholars assert that the Gandhara images of Buddha are earlier
to those of
Mathura. As regards Mathura, it definitely began sculpting Buddha's
images ...
www.exoticindiaart.com/article/lordbuddha

Harappan and the Early Harappan- Late Vedic Ceramic traditions at
Padri (Gohil-ni) Nagwada, Loteshwar and Oriya Timbo are earlier to
the Rojdi Period ...
www.hindunet.org/saraswati/vedic11.doc

However there are some noble families whose nobility and titles are
earlier to
their reception as citizen of Basel. St-GALL ...
members.tripod.com/~sirap76/nobility.html

The Vedic Hymns and Upanishads are earlier to Ramayana but they
cannot be easily understood by the common man because they are in
"vedic" Sanskrit. ...
sss.vn.ua/guide_in.htm

Sokoli states that“… the motive of the anthem is on the German
musical tradition,
as the said songs are earlier to the creation of Porumbesku”. ...
www.frosina.org/forum/get_ topic.asp?FID=1&TID=518&DIR=P

specifically british?  a quirk of historical writing?

arnold