Houses (and Gardens?) at Angkor

Summary

Household archaeology and a focus on residential spaces is an emerging field in Southeast Asia. At Angkor, this approach has great potential for exploring the resiliency of non-elite members of society through changes in environmental and socio-political processes. In this paper we present results from the ongoing analyses of a 2015 excavation of a house mound within the Angkor Wat enclosure. Using a variety of techniques including macro- and micro-botanical analyses, geoarchaeology, soil chemistry, and spatial analyses of artifacts we aim to identify specific activity areas on top of the mound. Botanical analyses are especially informative for identifying the presence of household gardens and subsistence practices of the people on the mounds. Radiocarbon dates suggest a continuous occupation of the mound during the Angkorian period, with re-occupation or re-use during the post-Angkorian period. Although issues of preservation and the nature of Angkorian house construction (which built houses on stilts with their house floors above the ground) are challenging, we see great potential in this research.

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 II: Sites, Landscape, and Environment

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 14353