A comprehensive archaeological map of the world's largest preindustrial settlement complex at Angkor, Cambodia

doi:10.1073/pnas.0702525104

A comprehensive archaeological map of the world's largest preindustrial settlement complex at Angkor, Cambodia

*Archaeological Computing Laboratory and
^§Department of Archaeology, University of Sydney, Sydney NSW 2006, Australia;
^‡École Française d'Extrême-Orient, Siem Reap, Cambodia;
^¶National Aeronautics and Space Administration Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109;
^‖Horizon Geoscience Consulting, Perth WA 6020, Australia;
**School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney NSW 2052, Australia; and
^††School of Physical Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane QLD 4072, Australia

Edited by Michael D. Coe, Yale University, New Haven, CT, and approved June 29, 2007 (received for review March 17, 2007)

Abstract

The great medieval settlement of Angkor in Cambodia [9th–16th centuries Common Era (CE)] has for many years been understood as a “hydraulic city,” an urban complex defined, sustained, and ultimately overwhelmed by a complex water management network. Since the 1980s that view has been disputed, but the debate has remained unresolved because of insufficient data on the landscape beyond the great temples: the broader context of the monumental remains was only partially understood and had not been adequately mapped. Since the 1990s, French, Australian, and Cambodian teams have sought to address this empirical deficit through archaeological mapping projects by using traditional methods such as ground survey in conjunction with advanced radar remote-sensing applications in partnership with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Here we present a major outcome of that research: a comprehensive archaeological map of greater Angkor, covering nearly 3,000 km², prepared by the Greater Angkor Project (GAP). The map reveals a vast, low-density settlement landscape integrated by an elaborate water management network covering >1,000 km², the most extensive urban complex of the preindustrial world. It is now clear that anthropogenic changes to the landscape were both extensive and substantial enough to have created grave challenges to the long-term viability of the settlement.

Footnotes

^†To whom correspondence should be addressed at:
Archaeological Computing Laboratory, Madsen Building F09, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
E-mail evans{at}acl.arts.usyd.edu.au
Author contributions: D.E., C.P., R.F., and M.B. designed research; D.E., C.P., S.H., I.T., and A.M. performed research; D.E., C.P., R.F., S.H., I.T., and A.M. analyzed data; and D.E. and R.F. wrote the paper.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
This article is a PNAS Direct Submission.
↵ ‡‡ Kummu, M., 5th World Archaeological Congress, June 21–26, 2003, Washington, DC, available at http://users.tkk.fi/∼mkummu/publications/kummu_WAC_WashingtonDC_2003.pdf.
Abbreviation:

CE,

Common Era.