Angkor & Khmer Civilization PA

by Coe,Michael D.

• ISBN13: 9780500284421
• ISBN10: 0500284423
• Edition: 00
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-02-17
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson

Summary

A great deal is now known about the brilliant Khmer civilization that flourished among the monsoon forests and rice paddies of mainland Southeast Asia, thanks to the pioneering work of French scholars and the application of modern archaeological techniques such as remote sensing from the space shuttle. The classic-period Khmer kings ruled over their part-Hindu and part-Buddhist empire from AD 802 for more than five centuries. This period saw the construction of many architectural masterpieces, including the huge capital city of Angkor, with the awe-inspiring Angkor Wat, the world's largest religious structure. Numerous other provincial centers, bound together by an impressive imperial road system, were scattered across the Cambodian Plain, northeast Thailand, southern Laos, and the Delta of southern Vietnam. Khmer civilization by no means disappeared with the gradual abandonment of Angkor that began in the fourteenth century, and the book's final chapter describes the conversion of the Khmer to a different kind of Buddhism, the move of the capital downriver to the Phnom Penh area, and the reorientation of the Khmer state to maritime trade. Angkor and the Khmer Civilization presents a concise but complete picture of Khmer cultural history from the Stone Age until the establishment of the French Protectorate in 1863, and is lavishly illustrated with maps, plans, drawings, and photographs. Drawing on the latest archaeological research, Michael D. Coe brings to life Angkor's extraordinary society and culture.

Author Biography

Michael D. Coe is currently Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at Yale University and a member of the National Academy of Sciences

Table of Contents

Preface	p. 7
Chronological Table	p. 10
Introduction	p. 11
The age of 'discovery'	p. 12
The Mekong Exploration Commission	p. 14
The age of EFEO	p. 16
The ancient Khmer Empire	p. 17
The rebirth of Khmer archaeology	p. 18
Periods	p. 19
The Setting	p. 21
The Lower Mekong Basin	p. 21
The regions	p. 23
Flora and fauna	p. 27
Rice: the Khmer staff of life	p. 29
Peoples and Languages	p. 33
Cambodian genesis	p. 33
The peopling of Southeast Asia	p. 33
Languages: the big picture	p. 34
The Khmer language	p. 38
Writing	p. 39
Who are the Khmer?	p. 40
The Khmer Before History	p. 43
Hunters and gatherers	p. 43
The Early Farming period	p. 45
The diffusion of rice and village life	p. 46
Iron Age chiefdoms (c. 500 BC to c. AD 200-500)	p. 48
The circular earthworks puzzle	p. 49
The 'red soils' earthworks	p. 50
Rock paintings	p. 54
The Khmer before the great transformation	p. 55
Winds of Change: The Early Kingdoms Period	p. 57
'Funan' and 'Zhenla'	p. 57
The Delta chiefdoms	p. 61
Hands across the sea	p. 62
Indianization	p. 63
Oc Eo and early maritime contacts	p. 64
From chiefdoms to kingdoms	p. 68
Angkor Borei	p. 70
Sambor Prei Kuk	p. 73
Banteay Prei Nokor	p. 75
Wat Phu	p. 76
The bronzes of Prakhon Chai	p. 78
Special section: Hinduism	p. 76
Special section: Buddhism	p. 85
The Classic Angkor Period: From Kingdom to Empire	p. 97
The founding of the Khmer Empire	p. 97
Special section: Dynastic succession in Cambodia	p. 100
Hariharalaya: a proto-Angkor	p. 101
The 'Glory-bearing City': the founding of Angkor	p. 102
Interlude at Koh Ker	p. 107
Disruption and rebirth	p. 109
Special section: Banteay Srei	p. 110
'Protected by the Sun': the triumph of Suryavarman	p. 112
The Baphuon and the building of Phimai	p. 114
Suryavarman II, builder of Angkor Wat	p. 116
Special section: Angkor Wat	p. 117
Disaster	p. 122
Rebirth of the empire: Jayavarman VII	p. 122
Reaction and iconoclasm	p. 128
On the eve	p. 130
The Life and Culture of Classic Angkor	p. 131
The sources	p. 131
The divisions of Classic Khmer society	p. 133
Administration of the city and empire	p. 135
Law and order in ancient Angkor	p. 144
The economy	p. 145
Communications and transportation	p. 151
Architecture and the building trade	p. 155
Arts and crafts	p. 158
Daily life in ancient Angkor	p. 173
Entertainment and the performing arts	p. 179
Classic Khmer ritual life	p. 183
Warfare and the military	p. 185
Thought and culture in Classic Angkor	p. 188
Angkor: city and state	p. 191
The Post-Classic Period: Decline and Transformation	p. 195
The collapse of Classic Angkor	p. 196
The sources	p. 197
Theravada Buddhism and its meaning for Cambodia	p. 201
Angkor as a Theravada Buddhist complex	p. 204
Geopolitics	p. 205
The course of Post-Classic history	p. 208
Post-Classic society and administration	p. 213
Trade and commerce	p. 219
Post-Classic warfare	p. 219
The art of the Post-Classic	p. 220
Mental life in Post-Classic Cambodia	p. 222
Epilogue	p. 224
Rulers of the Khmer	p. 225
Visiting Angkor	p. 226
Notes to the Text	p. 226
Further Reading	p. 230
Sources of Illustrations	p. 234
Index	p. 235
Table of Contents provided by Rittenhouse. All Rights Reserved.