Wikipedia:Main Page history/2011 June 13

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The Norte Chico civilization was a complex Pre-Columbian society that included as many as 30 major population centers in what is now the Norte Chico region of north-central coastal Peru. It is the oldest known civilization in the Americas and one of the six sites where civilization separately originated in the ancient world. It flourished between the 30th century BC and the 18th century BC. Complex society in Norte Chico arose a millennium after Sumer in Mesopotamia, was contemporaneous with the Egyptian pyramids, and predated the Mesoamerican Olmec by nearly two millennia. In archaeological nomenclature, Norte Chico is a Preceramic culture of the pre-Columbian Late Archaic; it completely lacked ceramics and apparently had almost no art. The most impressive achievement of the civilization was its monumental architecture, including large earthwork platform mounds and sunken circular plazas. Sophisticated government is assumed to have been required to manage the ancient Norte Chico. Archaeologists have been aware of ancient sites in the area since at least the 1940s; early work occurred at Aspero on the coast, a site identified as early as 1905, and later at Caral further inland. (more...) Recently featured: Alexandra of Denmark – Makinti Napanangka – Luton Town F.C. Archive – By email – More featured articles...
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From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that the racing track Charles River Speedway (pictured) was designed by a firm co-founded by Frederick Law Olmsted? ... that Beatrice Mtetwa, "Zimbabwe's top human rights lawyer", has secured the release of reporters from The New York Times and The Sunday Telegraph? ... that despite the nation being banned from the 1972 Olympics because of the policy of apartheid, 25 athletes competed for South Africa at the 1972 Summer Paralympics? ... that Brigadier General Francis C. Marshall had just visited Camp Hearn prior to dying in a plane crash? ... that Norwegian librarian and bibliographer Hjalmar Pettersen registered every work in the 3,300 page-long Bibliotheca Norvegica himself? ... that Mexican-American singer-songwriter Selena was murdered by an employee who (falsely) claimed she was raped and needed the singer's help? ... that one of the first European books to contain Chinese characters was written by an officer of the Spanish Inquisition, and translated into English by an escaped former prisoner of the Inquisition? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
In basketball, the Dallas Mavericks defeat the Miami Heat to win their first NBA championship (Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki pictured). In the Turkish general election, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is elected for a third term and the AK Party retains its majority in parliament. In sports car racing, Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer and Benoît Tréluyer win the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Senior al-Qaeda leader Fazul Abdullah Mohammed is killed by Somali soldiers in Mogadishu, Somalia. Thousands of Syrians flee to Turkey as Syrian troops lay siege to Jisr ash-Shugur. The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2011 closes in Los Angeles. Indian painter M. F. Husain dies in London at the age of 95. Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
June 13: Queen's Official Birthday in Australia (2011); Whit Monday (Christianity, 2011) 1525 – Martin Luther married Katharina von Bora, against the celibacy discipline decreed by the Roman Catholic Church for priests. 1777 – Gilbert du Motier, better known as the Marquis de Lafayette, landed near Georgetown, South Carolina, to assist the Thirteen Colonies in their revolution against Great Britain. 1983 – Pioneer 10 (artist's depiction pictured) became the first man-made object to leave the central Solar System, when it passed Neptune, the furthest planet from the Sun at the time. 1997 – In one of the worst fire tragedies in recent Indian history, 59 people died and 103 others were seriously injured during a premiere screening of the film Border at the Uphaar Cinema in Green Park, South Delhi. 2007 – Former Iraqi government official Haitham al-Badri orchestrated a second bombing of the al-Askari Mosque, one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam. More anniversaries: June 12 – June 13 – June 14 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now June 13, 2011 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured list

Common signs and symptoms of diving disorders can be observed either during a dive, on surfacing, or up to several hours after. Diving disorders are caused by breathing gas at the high pressures encountered at depth: when diving, the gas breathed must be at the same pressure as the ambient pressure, which can be much greater than on the surface, increasing by one standard atmosphere (100 kPa) for every 10 metres (33 ft) of depth. The principal conditions encountered are decompression illness (which covers decompression sickness and arterial gas embolism); nitrogen narcosis; high-pressure nervous syndrome; oxygen toxicity; and pulmonary barotrauma (burst lung). Although some of these may occur in other settings, they are of particular concern for divers. (more...)

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Today's featured picture

A long-exposure seascape photograph of rocks at Clifton Beach, Tasmania. In photography, exposure is the total amount of light allowed to fall on the photographic medium (film or sensor): the longer the shutter speed, the more light is let in. This can be done for technical reasons, such as in low-light conditions, or to create an artistic effect as shown here, when the ocean waves appear to be fog.

Photo: JJ Harrison

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