Khmer Stoneware Ceramic Production and the Angkorian State

Summary

The Angkorian Khmer (900-1500 CE) manufactured an array of goods that materialized and celebrated political authority, from temples and religious statuary to ornaments and domestic tools. Khmer stoneware ceramics were one of the least spectacular and most ubiquitous of these, yet their distributional pattern deftly maps the geography of 9th – 15th century Angkorian rule. Archaeological research at Khmer stoneware kiln sites in the last two decades, coupled with excavations in Greater Angkor, have resulted in a growing database of production centers and a better understanding of the range of stonewares produced. Our paper presents morphological and geochemical results from eight Cambodian stoneware kiln complexes. Examining kiln design and geochemical variability, evident at different scales, allows us to better problematize and contextualize the relationship between stoneware production and the state.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Recent Developments in East and Southeast Asian Archaeology I: Material Culture Studies

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 14823