Angkor Borei Research Articles

Ancient DNA from Protohistoric Period Cambodia indicates that South Asians admixed with local populations as early as 1st–3rd centuries CE

Indian cultural influence is remarkable in present-day Mainland Southeast Asia (MSEA), and it may have stimulated early state formation in the region. Various present-day populations in MSEA harbor a low level of South Asian ancestry, but previous studies failed to detect such ancestry in any ancient individual from MSEA. In this study, we discovered a substantial level of South Asian admixture (ca. 40–50%) in a Protohistoric individual from the Vat Komnou cemetery at the Angkor Borei site in Cambodia. The location and direct radiocarbon dating result on the human bone (95% confidence interval is 78–234 calCE) indicate that this individual lived during the early period of Funan, one of the earliest states in MSEA, which shows that the South Asian gene flow to Cambodia started about a millennium earlier than indicated by previous published results of genetic dating relying on present-day populations. Plausible proxies for the South Asian ancestry source in this individual are present-day populations in Southern India, and the individual shares more genetic drift with present-day Cambodians than with most present-day East and Southeast Asian populations.

Resource utilisation and regional interaction in protohistoric Cambodia – The evidence from Angkor Borei

Angkor Borei is a protohistoric (ca. 500 BCE − 500 CE) site in southern Cambodia (Takeo Province), on the western edge of the Mekong Delta. Cambodia’s protohistoric period, concurrent with the Iron Age elsewhere in mainland Southeast Asia, is a period characterised by major socio-political transformation: early state formation, incorporation into the South China Sea network, and urbanisation. First occupied in the mid-first millennium BCE, Angkor Borei became the delta’s largest regional centre during the Funan period (c. 1st-6th century CE). This study builds on previous skeletal chemistry research, increasing the sample set by additional 15 individuals, to refine our understanding of the residential behaviour and exploitation strategies of the Angkor Borei mortuary sample. Using strontium, oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen isotope measurements from tooth enamel and bone, and incorporating bioavailable baseline strontium isotope data, we find that the majority of individuals have a childhood 87Sr/86Sr signature consistent with locally acquired food resources. For those individuals with outlier 87Sr/86Sr values, utilisation of the broader regional environment is suggested without the need to infer long-distance migration. The evidence for population stability at Angkor Borei during this dynamic period of increasing regional societal complexity indicates that the catalysts for change are manifold. Many factors are likely to have contributed to the genesis of early state society including social differentiation, cultural exchange, mercantile activity, residential mobility, and settlement growth, rather than one ‘external’ prime causative factor.

Angkor Borei and Protohistoric Trade Networks: A View from the Glass and Stone Bead Assemblage

Angkor Borei, Cambodia was an important urban center related to the early first millennium c.e. polity known as Funan. Excavations in the protohistoric period Vat Komnou Cemetery site uncovered over 1300 glass and stone beads, which are important material indicators of trade. In this article, we review data from earlier studies and add new previously unpublished data on glass and stone beads from this collection as well as previously unpublished glass compositional analyses from the nearby site of Oc Eo, Vietnam. Examinations of the glass beads highlight the presence of large quantities of high alumina mineral soda glass associated with Sri Lankan or South Indian bead production as well as smaller quantities of other glass types in circulation throughout Southeast Asia. Compositional and morphological studies of agate/carnelian beads show strong affinities with the Indian bead industry, while the garnet beads came from raw material sources in southern India. Overall, Angkor Borei's bead collection shows strong contacts with different regions of South Asia. Comparison with the bead assemblages of other contemporaneous sites demonstrate strong affinities with sites farther inland, such as Phum Snay and Prei Khmeng, Cambodia and Ban Non Wat, Thailand rather than other maritime coastal sites in Southeast Asia. We argue that the stone and glass beads at Angkor Borei are related to intensified interaction with South Asia and that elites at Angkor Borei used these exotic prestige goods to build alliances with sites farther inland forming an intraregional exchange network we call the Mekong Interaction Sphere.

Археологические памятники дельты Меконга – культура Окео (обзор)

The Mekong River Delta has many archaeological sites dated from the first to seventh centuries CE. They include the Oc Eo site and more than ninety sites in the territory of Vietnam. Another site of the Oc Eo archaeological culture is Angkor Borei in Cambodia. The early first millennium remains also include ancient canals which connected Angkor Borei and Oc Eo as well as few other sites. The early Iron Age predates the beginning of the Oc Eo culture in the first centuries CE. The Iron Age witnessed the growing social complexity and settlement hierarchy. The paper is an overview of archaeological investigations in the Mekong River Delta. The paper shows the deep Indian or Indic influences on the material and religious life of the ancient populations of the Mekong Delta.

The Angkor Borei Inscription K. 557/600 from Cambodia: An English translation and commentary

The Angkor Borei Inscription K. 557/600 from Cambodia: An English translation and commentary

Thermoluminesence and Radiocarbon Dates in the Brick Structures of GoThap Site in the Lower Mekong Delta Basin

The Go Thap site, formerly known as Prasat Pream Loven, is an area of six square kilometers with several small mounds on a dune running from northeast to southwest. It is situated in Thap Muoi district, Dong Thap province, Mekong Delta of Southern Vietnam. French archaeologists first explored the site during the end of the nineteenth and at the beginning of the twentieth century. This paper will establish a preliminary research of the monuments at the Go Thap site. The archaeological excavations during from 2012 to 2014 have discovered these brick monuments. We believe they are architectural foundations made of bricks sturctures. The Radiocarbon dating of the charcoal objects collected from layers of excavation indicates that these objects are from between the first late millennium BC and the middle of the first millennium AD. These dates are consistent with the time of initial occupation of Go Thap in the first century BC. The thermoluminesene dating of ancient ceramic fragments found at the excavation holes are from 2nd century BC and 1st century AD. These thermoluminescence dates corresponded with the data from Angkor Borei site in Cambodia.

Biocultural Practices during the Transition to History at the Vat Komnou Cemetery, Angkor Borei, Cambodia

Mainland Southeast Asia underwent dramatic changes after the mid-first millennium b.c.e., as its populations embraced new metallurgical and agricultural technologies. Southeast Asians transformed their physical and social environments further through their participation in international maritime trade networks. Early state formation characterized much of the mainland by the mid-first millennium c.e. We examined a protohistoric (200 b.c.e.–200 c.e.) skeletal sample from the Vat Komnou cemetery at Angkor Borei in the Mekong Delta (southern Cambodia) to understand the health impacts of this changing environment. Degenerative joint disease patterns indicate a distinct sexual division of labor. Although intentional dental filing was practiced, its impact on oral-dental health could not be determined. Dental pathologies suggest a mixed diet with more fibrous foods and a lower reliance on soft, processed agricultural foods. A broad-spectrum diet and varied use of the local environment are inferred from the faunal evidence. Stable isotope ratios indicate a relatively greater reliance on fish and estuarine dietary resources than on terrestrial protein. Affinities with other groups in the region are suggested by the cultural practices of the relatively tall, healthy inhabitants from Vat Komnou.

PRE-ANGKORIAN SETTLEMENT TRENDS IN CAMBODIA'S MEKONG DELTA AND THE LOWER MEKONG ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROJECT

Polities in the Mekong delta played a central role in regional developments between 500 BC and AD 500. Documentary data suggest the delta reached its political apex during the 3rd through 7th centuries. What were the roots of early polities in this region, and what was their organization? Research by the Lower Mekong Archaeological Project seeks to answer these questions through field investigations in southern Cambodia. Excavations at the ancient capital of Angkor Borei suggest a continuous occupation of the area from the 4th century BC onwards; the timing, development and nature of interregional networks are now under study. This presentation describes some results of research at Angkor Borei, and discusses ongoing research on the communication and settlement systems that characterized the northern section of the Mekong delta from 500 BC to AD 500.

THE BIOARCHAEOLOGY OF THE VAT KOMNOU CEMETERY, ANGKOR BOREI, CAMBODIA

Approximately 60 inhumation burials, of varying states of completeness and preservation, dated between 200 BC and AD 400 (or the early historic period in the Mekong delta) were excavated at the Vat Komnou cemetery located in Angkor Borei, Cambodia, by the University of Hawaii and the Royal University of Fine Arts in 1999 and 2000. The cemetery contained the remains of all age groups from infants to old adults. Over 40% of the burials are subadults. Adult males outnumber females 2 to 1 and most of the adults died as young adults. Osteological analyses are beginning to provide us with our first glimpses of these protohistoric people, associated with early Khmer culture, including evidence of health, disease, physiological stress, injury, physical activity, subsistence, length of life, and cultural modification of bone and teeth. Among the findings are tooth caries, moderate to extreme tooth attrition, and evidence of periodontal disease. Many of the teeth show evidence of betel staining. Healed fractures of the cranium and the infracranial skeleton, although rare, were also observed. Comparisons with other skeletal series from Southeast Asia provide regional context for these preliminary observations.

MONUMENTALITY IN THE MEKONG DELTA: LUMINESCENCE DATING AND IMPLICATIONS

Brick monuments are one hallmark of emergent political complexity across much of mainland Southeast Asia during the first millennium AD. They first appeared in association with Indic statuary, large nucleated settlements, and the region's earliest states. Chronometric research in the Mekong delta on the earthen and brick wall that surrounds Angkor Borei (southern Cambodia) provides some of the earliest secure dates for brick architecture in the region. This paper presents preliminary results of the dating program at Angkor Borei and examines the utility of luminescence techniques for dating historic period monuments across mainland Southeast Asia.

Luminescence dating of canal sediments from Angkor Borei, Mekong Delta, Southern Cambodia

Work to apply luminescence dating to archaeological sites in the Lower Mekong Delta has continued with a programme aimed at dating ancient canal sediments and brick monuments in the vicinity of ancient city of Angkor Borei. Following the successful application of OSL dating to the Paris 2 canal near Angkor Borei further fieldwork and analysis has been undertaken. The infill and substrate of the larger Paris 4 canal connecting Angkor Borei to Oc Eo, some 80 km to the south in Vietnam has been sampled and subjected to luminescence analysis. Field spectroscopy and underwater bleaching experiments were also conducted in the Baray and Angkor Borei in 2004. The results show that both illumination intensities and spectral distributions are severely altered by as little as 1.5 m of turbid water, and that OSL bleaching rates for both quartz and feldspars are reduced. Since quartz resetting is heavily dependant on the UV components in daylight, which have preferentially attenuated the effects of turbid water on OSL zeroing rates are especially marked. The new data from the Paris 4 canal, which has been dated by OSL to be between the first millenium BC and the late first millenium AD are significant to understanding the archaeological development of the Fu Nan state in the Lower Mekong Delta, and the sequence of development of the canal network linking inland agrarian sites and coastal trading centres.

OSL and radiocarbon dating of a pre-Angkorian canal in the Mekong delta, southern Cambodia

This study presents preliminary results of research on pre-Angkorian canals near the ancient settlement of Angkor Borei in the southern Mekong delta of southern Cambodia. The canals have been mapped by aerial photograph interpretation and investigated in the field by hand auger drilling of two canal traces and trenching of one of these. Luminescence profiling through the canal infill successfully identified the base of the canal as well as revealing disturbance and mixing of the canal infill that was not apparent from visual inspection or sedimentological analyses of the infill sediments. OSL dating of the canal bed indicates excavation (or re-excavation) of the canal bed between the first millennium BC and the middle of the first millennium AD. This date is consistent with the time of initial occupation of Angkor Borei in the fourth century BC. Multiple charcoal samples with a pooled age of early fourth to early fifth century AD probably signal the onset of canal infilling. The apparent demise of the canal coincides with a major change in land-use signalled in pollen and diatom data from Angkor Borei, but this change cannot be taken to indicate de-population of the region. This tentative chronology will be refined when more canals are investigated and greater precision is achieved in OSL dating of the canals. The latter will necessitate clearer identification and separation of unbleached (older, pre-archaeological) components and bleached (younger and dating the canal digging and/or operation) components in the OSL stored dose.

Luminescence dating of anthropogenically reset canal sediments from Angkor Borei, Mekong Delta, Cambodia

This paper presents a case study in the analysis of anthropogenically reset sedimentary materials, through work undertaken to identify and date sediments in an ancient canal in the Mekong Delta, Cambodia. The emergence of rice cultivating communities, utilising canals for both hydraulic management and transport, represents an important stage in the social evolution of southeast Asia. The emergence of complex polities in the region, which may have depended on both international trade and intensified agriculture, led ultimately to the formation of the famous Khmer empires which dominated the region on several occasions through the 1st and 2nd millennia AD. French colonial scholars identified possibly ancient canals in the region that may have played roles in trade, agriculture, or both. This series of ancient canal features near Angkor Borei has been the subject of recent investigations in a collaboration between the Universities of Glasgow and Hawaii. Luminescence profiling measurements were used to identify the canal bed, by exploiting the contrast between a regional substrate of some 50 ka depositional age and more recent archaeological sediments. In this manner it has been possible to identify the sedimentary substrate, undisturbed canal sediments, and redeposited material. Ages have been estimated for substrate and canal infill sediments. The work represents the first convincing demonstration of luminescence dating of one of these important regional features, and indeed the first confirmation of the presumed antiquity of the canal system around Angkor Borei.

A 3.5 ka record of paleoenvironments and human occupation at Angkor Borei, Mekong Delta, southern Cambodia

AbstractMicrofossil and sedimentological data from a 3.1 m core extracted from a reservoir (baray) at the ancient Cambodian settlement of Angkor Borei in the Mekong Delta have provided a continuous record of sedimentation and paleoenvironments dating from about 2000 cal yr B.C. Palynological data indicate that for much of the cal. 1st and 2nd millennia B.C. mangroves dominated the regional vegetation, while extensively and regularly burnt grasslands dominated the local vegetation. Turbid, nutrient‐rich standing water characterized the core locality, perhaps suggesting a connection with rivers in the area. An abrupt change during the cal. 5th to 6th centuries A.D. involved a dramatic reduction in grasslands and the expansion of secondary forest or re‐growth taxa. These changes are synchronous with an abrupt decline in the concentration of microscopic charcoal particles in the sediments, and the colonization of the core locality by swamp forest plants. These changes are taken to indicate a shift in land‐use strategies or, possibly, a period of land abandonment. The age for the construction of the baray is interpreted to be in the 17th–19th centuries, but this dating remains speculative. Construction of the Angkor Borei baray exploited a preexisting body of standing water, so its construction was fundamentally different from the methods used at the Angkorian capital in northern Cambodia. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Funan Reviewed : Deconstructing the Ancients

Michael Vickery Funan Reviewed: Deconstructing the Ancients The review and deconstruction in this article concern the story of Funan composed by an earlier generation of western scholars which permeates all historical syntheses of Cambodia to date. It is not a critique of the Chinese sources, which constitute nearly the entire corpus of written evidence for Funan, nor of Pelliot's translations of those sources, for the author is not a Sinologist. Among the author's concerns are (1) a strict distinction between historic evidence and prehistoric folktales, resulting in a denial that any 'Kaundinya' ever came to Funan from India, (2) misconstrual of Funanese royal succession patterns, which suggest matrilineal uncle-to-nephew succession, seen more clearly in later periods in Cambodia, (3) evidence that Funan's ethno-linguistic situation was Khmer, against the recent growing consensus that it was Austronesian, (4) denial of the validity of Cœdès's identification of a name transmitted by the Chinese with the locally recorded ' Vyādhapura' and its location at Ba Phnom. The conclusions about Funan's location and its capital are that the old idea of original Funan as comprising southern Cambodia and some adjoining part of southern Vietnam is still acceptable, but that the location, or locations at different times, of its 'capital(s)' are uncertain and will be decided by archaeology, with the strongest candidate at present Angkor Borei, and the weakest Ba Phnom.

The Transition to History in the Mekong Delta: A View from Cambodia

This article discusses methodological issues associated with the use of documentary and archaeological data to interpret the early historic period of southern Cambodia. Developments in the Lower Mekong region are used as a case study, and where the polity of “Funan” reputedly flourished from the second to the sixth centuries A.D. A variety of data sources available to us now—Chinese historical accounts, inscriptions, local oral traditions, and archaeological materials—suggests that this early historic polity was a unique mixture of ritual, economic, and political activity. Discussion concentrates on the site of Angkor Borei (Takeo Province, Cambodia), where the Lower Mekong Archaeological Project (LOMAP) has undertaken research since 1995.