The Iron Age prehistory of the area saw vigorous and powerful societies, where some individuals were buried "with opulent grave goods and much ritual". From around 150 to 550 AD the Mekong delta state of Funan extended its reach well up the Mekong river. But changes in international trade patterns — or perhaps the growing importance of rice — saw the centre of power move to the central Cambodian plain, where from 550 to 800 there were a series of states. These were dominated by hereditary aristocrats with Sanskrit names, which Higham argues were "an Indic veneer", a "self-interested use of the exotic to enhance personal prestige".
From around 800 there was a centralised state with a capital at Angkor. Though periodically disrupted by conflicts over succession — exacerbated by a system of descent to sister's sons — this maintained an underlying continuity down to 1431, when Angkor was abandoned following its sack by armies of the Thai kingdom of Ayutthaya. Higham divides the period into three dynasties: one founded by Jayavarman II to 1000, a dynasty of "Sun" kings to 1080, and a dynasty started by Jayavarman VI (from Mahidharapura, north of the Dang Raek mountains).
Higham's approach is basically chronological, following the political history, but he also covers social and economic developments.
"The king had the right to donate land to faithful retainers and to confiscate it from his enemies. Expansion into new territory, such as the Mun Valley, may have changed little, other than according the local overlord a title, high-status gifts and binding him in loyalty to the centre. A land grant was usually followed by the foundation of a family or lineage temple, together with priests, reservoirs, animals and workers. By investing capital in the form of buffaloes and cattle, seed and ploughs, the owners brought new land into production, a proportion of which was donated to a state temple.
... There must also have been a major salt-making industry, and boatbuilders for the barges that plied the Mekong. Blacksmiths, weavers, traders and miners do not emerge from the inscriptions, but their output leaves no doubt as to their presence."The monumental evidence is illustrated with sixteen pages of black and white photographs and a nice series of maps showing the growth of the Angkor complex. "Virtually no archaeological research has been undertaken beyond Angkor", however, and little is known about broader settlement patterns. Higham also draws on inscriptions and accounts by visiting Chinese travellers. And he deploys a little general anthropological theory, on topics such as state formation, with comparisons to Mesoamerican and African states.
In the debate over the purpose of the huge reservoirs associated with Angkor temples, Higham sides with those emphasizing symbolic goals rather than irrigation.
"In terms of architecture, Angkor is, par excellence, the outstanding example of building in the name of majesty and sacred power. The role of the king in interceding with the deified ancestors, and ordering the construction of reservoirs containing temples that literally removed a person's sins and assured a better rebirth, again reflects the importance of ritual authority."Rice cultivation was probably based on flood-retreat irrigation rather than large-scale centralised systems.
22 January 2003
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