This item is non-discoverable
The Khmer did not live by rice alone: Archaeobotanical investigations at Angkor Wat and Ta Prohm
Loading...
Files
Date
2020-12
Authors
Castillo, Cristina Cobo
Kingwell-Banham, Eleanor
Zhuang, Yijie
Weisskopf, Alison
Chhay, Rachna
Heng, Piphal
Fuller, Dorian Q.
Stark, Miriam
Carter, Alison Kyra
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Elsevier
Abstract
The Angkorian Empire was at its peak from the 10th to 13th centuries CE. It wielded great influence across mainland Southeast Asia and is now one of the most archaeologically visible polities due to its expansive religious building works. This paper presents archaeobotanical evidence from two of the most renowned Angkorian temples largely associated with kings and elites, Angkor Wat and Ta Prohm. But it focuses on the people that dwelt within the temple enclosures, some of whom were involved in the daily functions of the temple. Archaeological work indicates that temple enclosures were areas of habitation within the Angkorian urban core and the temples and their enclosures were ritual, political, social, and economic landscapes. This paper provides the first attempt to reconstruct some aspects of the lives of the non-elites living within the temple enclosures by examining the archaeobotanical evidence, both macroremains and phytoliths, from residential contexts and data derived from inscriptions and Zhou Daguan's historical account dating to the 13th century CE. Research indicates that plants found within the temple enclosure of Ta Prohm and Angkor Wat were grown for ritual or medicinal use, and also formed important components of the diet and household economy.
Description
21 pages
Keywords
Inscriptions, Household gardens, Non-elites, Economic crops, Rice, Cotton
Citation
Castillo, C. C., Carter, A. K., Kingwell-Banham, E., Zhuang, Y., Weisskopf, A., Chhay, R., & Stark, M. (2020). The Khmer did not live by rice alone: Archaeobotanical investigations at Angkor Wat and Ta Prohm. Archaeological Research in Asia, 24, 100213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ara.2020.100213