The Civilization of Angkor - Softcover

Charles Higham

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1842125842 ISBN 13: 9781842125847

Publisher: Phoenix Press, 2003

Synopsis

In the late sixteenth century a mythical encounter was reported on an elephant hunt in the dense jungle north of the Tonle Sap, or Great Lake, of central Cambodia. King Satha of Cambodia and his retainers were beating a path through the undergrowth when they were halted by stone giants, and then a massive wall. The King, the fable reported, ordered 6,000 men to bring down the wall, thereby exposing the city of Angkor - 'lost' for over a century. Subsequent reports from Portuguese missionaries described its four gateways, with bridges flanked by stone figures leading across a moat. There were idols covered in gold, inscriptions, fountains, canals, and 'a temple with five towers, called Angor [sic]'. For four centuries, this huge complex has inspired awe amongst visitors from all over the world, but only now are its origins and history becoming clear. This book begins with the progress of the prehistoric communities of the area and draws on the author's recent excavations to portray the rich and expansive chiefdoms that existed at the dawn of civilization. It covers the origins of early states, up to the establishment, zenith and decline of this extraordinary civilization, whose most impressive achievement was the construction of the gilded temple mausoleum of Angkor Wat, in the twelfth century, allegedly by 70,000 people.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

"The Civilization of Angkor is remarkable and unique in that it delves into the prehistoric roots of the civilization. Higham is THE international authority on southeast Asian archaeology, and presents an up-to-date and provocative synthesis of Angkor."—Brian Fagan, author of Floods, Famines, and Emperors: El Niņo and the Fate of Civilizations, and co-editor of The Oxford Companion to Archaeology.

"In blending archaeological and documentary data to chronicle the rise of this important Southeast Asian state, Higham's rich history of Angkor effectively refutes traditional models of state development in the Mekong region and offers insights regarding the nature of Angkor and the processes that led to its emergence."—Miriam Stark, Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Hawai'i and editor of The Archaeology of Social Boundaries

About the Author

Charles Higham has been active in archaeological research in Southeast Asia since 1969. He has published a series of final excavation reports and is the author of two major syntheses of the region's prehistory, The Archaeology of Mainland Southeast Asia, and The Bronze Age of Southeast Asia. He is a Fellow of the British Academy, and Professor of Anthropology at the University of Otago in New Zealand.

About this edition

• Publisher: Phoenix Press
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 1842125842
• ISBN 13: 9781842125847
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 208