The Maya civilization was a Mesoamerican civilization developed by the Maya peoples in an area that encompasses southeastern Mexico, all of Guatemala and Belize, and the western portions of Honduras and El Salvador. The earliest villages developed before 2000 BC. The first Maya cities developed around 750 BC, and by 500 BC these cities possessed monumental architecture. Two hundred years later, the Maya were using Hieroglyphic writing, the most advanced script in the pre-Columbian Americas. Only three of their books of history and ritual knowledge are known for certain to remain. Beginning in the mid third century, the Classic period saw the Maya civilization develop a large number of city- states linked by a complex trade network. In the 9th century, there was a widespread political collapse in the central Maya region. In the 16th century, the Spanish Empire colonised the region; the last Maya city fell in 1697. The Maya developed highly sophisticated artforms, complex calendars, and mathematics that included one of the earliest instances of the explicit zero in the world. Maya architecture included palaces, pyramid-temples, and ceremonial ballcourts.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_civilization

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1142:

Despite having saved the Southern Song dynasty from attempts by the northern Jin dynasty to conquer it, Chinese general Yue Fei was executed by the Song government. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yue_Fei

1785:

The University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, one of the oldest public universities in the United States, was founded. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Georgia

1868:

Boshin War: The Battle of Toba–Fushimi, where pro-Imperial forces defeated those of the Tokugawa shogunate and which was a catalyst for the Meiji Restoration, began in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Toba%E2%80%93Fushimi

1974:

The Brisbane River, which runs through the heart of Brisbane, broke its banks and flooded the surrounding areas (pictured). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1974_Brisbane_flood

1996:

Mahamane Ousmane, the first democratically elected president of Niger, was deposed by Colonel Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara in a military coup d'état. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahamane_Ousmane

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

whenwe: (slang) A former British settler or expatriate who talks nostalgically about his or her former home in colonial Africa. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/whenwe

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

It is said that a wise man who stands firm is a statesman, and a foolish man who stands firm is a catastrophe.   --Hyman G. Rickover https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Hyman_G._Rickover