Abstract
According to the best known and most widely held theory, termed the ‘hydraulic thesis’, the rice culture of the Angkorian Empire was based on large-scale water management centred upon the use of the baray or large reservoir. This theory has consequences not only for our conception of Angkorian agronomy but for our entire understanding of Angkorian society and history. The purpose of this paper is to test the hydraulic thesis by means of two geographic tests, never before explored in the literature. The tests entail: (1) determining whether a significant proportion of Angkor's population would have been fed by the institution of hydraulic agriculture; and (2) determining whether the placement and sequence of construction of the large Angkorian barays is consistent or inconsistent with the hydraulic thesis. It will be shown that the hydraulic thesis is rejected by both these tests, and that its demise opens the way for alternative concepts of Angkorian history and society.
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