Quiriguá is an ancient Maya archaeological site in the department of
Izabal in south-eastern Guatemala. It is a medium-sized site covering
approximately 3 square kilometres (1.2 sq mi) along the lower Motagua
River, with the ceremonial center about 1 km (0.6 mi) from the north
bank. During the Maya Classic Period, Quiriguá was situated at the
juncture of several important trade routes. The site was occupied by
200, construction on the acropolis had begun by about 550, and an
explosion of grander construction started in the 8th century. All
construction had halted by about 850, except for a brief period of
reoccupation in the Early Postclassic. Quiriguá shares its
architectural and sculptural styles with the nearby Classic Period city
of Copán, with whose history it is closely entwined. Quiriguá's rapid
expansion in the 8th century was tied to king K'ak' Tiliw Chan Yopaat's
military victory over Copán in 738. When the greatest king of Copán,
Uaxaclajuun Ub'aah K'awiil or "18-Rabbit", was defeated, he was
captured and then sacrificed in the Great Plaza at Quiriguá. Before
this, Quiriguá had been a vassal state of Copán, but it maintained its
independence afterwards. The ceremonial architecture at Quiriguá is
quite modest, but the site's importance lies in its wealth of
sculpture, including the tallest stone monuments ever erected in the
New World.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quirigu%C3%A1>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1602:
English explorer Bartholomew Gosnold became the first recorded European
to visit Cape Cod.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartholomew_Gosnold>
1836:
English astronomer Francis Baily first observed "Baily's beads", a
phenomenon during a solar eclipse in which the rugged lunar limb
topography allows beads of light to shine through .
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Baily>
1905:
Las Vegas was established as railroad town, after 110 acres (0.45 km2)
owned by the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad was
auctioned off.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_Vegas%2C_Nevada>
1928:
Mickey and Minnie Mouse made their film debut in the animated cartoon
Plane Crazy.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mickey_Mouse>
1932:
Japanese Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi was assassinated in a coup
attempt by radical elements of the Imperial Japanese Navy.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_15_Incident>
1966:
After a policy dispute, South Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyễn Cao Kỳ's
ruling junta launched a military attack on the forces of General Ton
That Dinh, forcing him to abandon his command.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ton_That_Dinh>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
pleased as Punch (adj):
(colloquial) Pleased with one's own actions or achievements
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pleased_as_Punch>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
The real sin against life is to abuse and destroy beauty, even one's
own — even more, one's own, for that has been put in our care and we
are responsible for its well-being.
--Katherine Anne Porter
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Katherine_Anne_Porter>