Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2005. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaf 284).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Sydney, 2009. / Title from title screen (viewed September 8, 2009) Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Dept. of Archaeology, Faculty of Arts. Includes appendices. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print form.

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Doctor of Philosophy / The relationship between the Angkorian Empire and its capital is important for understanding how this state was sustained. The empire’s political economy is studied by analysing data from Pre-Angkorian and Angkorian period inscriptions in aggregated form, in contrast to previous studies which relied mainly on detailed reading of the texts. The study is necessarily broad to overcome the constraints of having relatively few inscriptions which relate to a selected range of topics, and are partial in viewpoint. The success of the pre-modern Khmer state depended on: its long-established communication and trade links; mutual support of rulers and regional elites; decentralised administration through regional centres; its ability to produce or acquire a surplus of resources; and a network of temples as an ideological vehicle for state integration. The claim that there was a centrally controlled command economy or significant redistribution of resources, as for archaic, moneyless societies is difficult to justify. The mode of control varied between the core area and peripheral areas. Even though Angkor did not have money, it used a unit of account. Despite being an inland agrarian polity, the Khmer actively pursued foreign trade. There are indications of a structure, perhaps hierarchical, of linked deities and religious foundations helping to disseminate the state’s ideology. The establishment of these foundations was encouraged by gifts and privileges granted to elite supporters of the rulers. Contrary to some views, Angkor was not excessively rigid or unusually hierarchical and autocratic when compared with contemporary analogous states. Its political economy is marked by three simultaneous cycles indicative of changing power relationships: cycles of royal inscriptions; of non-royal inscriptions; and fluctuating control over peripheral territories. Its processes and strategies were sufficiently flexible for it to endure as an empire for approximately six centuries, despite internal and external disturbances.

Doctor of Philosophy / The relationship between the Angkorian Empire and its capital is important for understanding how this state was sustained. The empire’s political economy is studied by analysing data from Pre-Angkorian and Angkorian period inscriptions in aggregated form, in contrast to previous studies which relied mainly on detailed reading of the texts. The study is necessarily broad to overcome the constraints of having relatively few inscriptions which relate to a selected range of topics, and are partial in viewpoint. The success of the pre-modern Khmer state depended on: its long-established communication and trade links; mutual support of rulers and regional elites; decentralised administration through regional centres; its ability to produce or acquire a surplus of resources; and a network of temples as an ideological vehicle for state integration. The claim that there was a centrally controlled command economy or significant redistribution of resources, as for archaic, moneyless societies is difficult to justify. The mode of control varied between the core area and peripheral areas. Even though Angkor did not have money, it used a unit of account. Despite being an inland agrarian polity, the Khmer actively pursued foreign trade. There are indications of a structure, perhaps hierarchical, of linked deities and religious foundations helping to disseminate the state’s ideology. The establishment of these foundations was encouraged by gifts and privileges granted to elite supporters of the rulers. Contrary to some views, Angkor was not excessively rigid or unusually hierarchical and autocratic when compared with contemporary analogous states. Its political economy is marked by three simultaneous cycles indicative of changing power relationships: cycles of royal inscriptions; of non-royal inscriptions; and fluctuating control over peripheral territories. Its processes and strategies were sufficiently flexible for it to endure as an empire for approximately six centuries, despite internal and external disturbances.

À l’ombre des grands temples d’Angkor, la découverte en 1920 d’un petit édicule à stèle nommé Prasat Ong Mong dut paraître un peu anecdotique à son auteur, Henri Marchal. Pourtant, les travaux de George Cœdès, de Georges Trouvé et plus tard de Christophe Pottier allaient montrer que ce petit édifice appartenait à une fondation bouddhique importante, le Saugatāśrama, l’un des quatre grands āśrama fondés par Yaśovarman Ier à la fin du IXe siècle et, que loin d’être isolé, il était implanté au sein d’une vaste enceinte rectangulaire.Curieusement, bien que les textes comme les dimensions du site laissaient présager qu’il s’agissait d’une fondation importante et dynamique, en l’absence de fouille, nous n’en avions jusqu’à présent qu’une vision très partielle. Le culte des divinités, le logement et l’approvisionnement d’une communauté, l’enseignement, la copie de manuscrits, etc. sont pourtant autant d’activités nécessitant un équipement et des infrastructures nombreuses et diversifiéesEn reprenant les archives, en proposant une nouvelle analyse des inscriptions et en confrontant ces sources aux données que nous avons collectées au cours de trois campagnes de fouille, nous nous proposons de faire la lumière sur ce Saugatāśrama. Nous essayons notamment de déterminer les activités qui y prenaient place, les infrastructures qui le caractérisaient et les différentes phases de son occupation, tout en le comparant aux autres Yaśodharāśrama d’Angkor afin de vérifier s’ils suivaient le même plan, quelle que soit leur obédience.Ce travail constitue une étape indispensable pour la compréhension des āśrama de Yaśovarman Ier, grande fondation royale répétitive entreprise au moment de l’installation de la capitale à Yaśodharapura / Angkor et pendant une période charnière pour la constitution de l’empire khmer. / In the shadow of the great temples of Angkor, the discovery in 1920 of a small stela aedicule named Prasat Ong Mong must have seemed trivial to Henri Marchal, the scholar who first documented the shrine. However, the works of George Cœdes, Georges Trouvé and later Christophe Pottier demonstrated that this small building formed part of an important Buddhist foundation, the Saugatāśrama, one of four great āśramas founded by Yaśovarman I at the end of the ninth century. Far from being an isolated shrine, the aedicule was constructed within a vast rectangular enclosure.Although the texts and large dimensions of the site suggested that it served as an important and dynamic foundation, in the absence of excavation, our understanding of the complex remained woefully incomplete and partial. The worship of divinities, the housing of devotees, the amassing of provisions to sustain the community, religious instruction, and the copying of manuscripts, along with other activities, all required a wide range of equipment and supporting infrastructures.By reexamining the archives, proposing novel interpretations of the inscriptions, and comparing these sources with the archaeological data we collected during three excavation campaigns, the dissertation sheds important new light on the Saugatāśrama. More specifically, we attempt a reconstruction of the activities that took place within the āśrama, the infrastructure that defined the hermitage, and its different phases of occupation. This course of analysis was complemented and enriched by comparing the Saugatāśrama with the other Yaśodharāśrama of Angkor in order to test whether they followed the same plan, regardless of their religious denomination.This work constitutes an essential first step in better understanding the āśrama of Yaśovarman I, a large, royal foundation consisting of numerous and seemingly standardized hermitages established at the time of the capital’s installation in Yaśodharapura / Angkor during the pivotal period of the consolidation of the Khmer Empire.

Les façons de concevoir et fabriquer la ville de Siem Reap, située aux portes du site d'Angkor classé au patrimoine mondial (1992), induites ou suscitées par le tourisme, sont l'objet de la recherche. La thèse interroge le rapport conflictuel entre planification et fabrication urbaine : si les plans de la coopération internationale produisent un domaine d'action ainsi qu'un cadre conceptuel à travers lequel le territoire est appréhendé, d'autres logiques et procédures détournent le cadre réglementaire. Dans les discours programmatiques et normatifs élaborés à partir de notions d'origine occidentale, maintenant diffusées à l'échelle internationale, ainsi que dans l'organisation institutionnelle, nous recherchons les failles qui mènent les plans à l'échec. Sans nier les effets de tabula rasa, nous argumentons l'entrée en jeu de différentes formes d'héritage dans les aménagements de l'espace : les représentations des lieux, produites à partir du XIXe siècle, qui influencent les projets d'hôtels et équipements ; les formes et les pratiques mobilisées par les habitants, dont la négociation avec des modèles exogènes aboutit à des compositions originales / After Angkor was listed as a World Heritage Site (1992), Siem Reap town which is situated at its doorway experienced intense urban development. The thesis investigates the processes of urban development and architectural design created under the influence of tourism. The research questions the conflicts between planning and urban development. While the plans carried out by international cooperation produce a domain of action and a conceptual framework through which the territory is apprehended, private stakeholders' procedures and objectives succeed in diverting regulations. We show that the faults which cause the failure of the plans have to be sought in the programs and the rules shaped by Western-based notions now disseminated at the international scale. Without denying the tabula rasa of urban landscapes, we argue that different forms of heritage play a part in architectural design and urban transformations: - the representations of places, produced since the 19th century, shape tourism linked projects; - inherited forms and practices mobilized by the inhabitants are negotiated with exogenous models and lead to original urban shapes

Les statues en ronde-bosse du Buddha khmer, exécutées entre le XIIIe et le XVIe siècle, expriment des pratiques religieuses bien spécifiques, sont marquées du sceau de la tradition angkorienne et révèlent la sensibilité des échanges artistiques avec les pays voisins. Elles sont ainsi le reflet des diverses élaborations et des différents rôles qu’elles ont joué. Un corpus raisonné de deux cent trente-huit statues du Buddha travaillées dans la pierre, le bois et le bronze, issues de plusieurs collections muséales, de collections privées ou de découvertes restées in situ, aide à retracer l’évolution de la production artistique dans le royaume khmer durant cette période. Les principaux résultats de ce travail apportent de nouvelles explications autour de l’idée d’une prise et occupation d’Angkor par Ayutthaya et d’un déplacement du centre politique de la région d’Angkor vers la région des Quatre Bras. / Images of Khmer Buddha executed between the 13th and c. 16th CE demonstrate specific religious practice, continuity of the Angkorian tradition, and artistic exchange with bordering countries. Together, they also reveal transformations in the form, definition and role of Buddhist sculpture in Cambodia. An annotated corpus of 238 Buddha images in stone, wood, and bronze from several museum and private collections, and in situ, assist in the reconstruction of changes to artistic production in the Khmer kingdom during this period. The principal results of this work provide new interpretations about the Ayutthyan invasion and occupation at Angkor, and resettlement of the Angkorian political centre in the Quatre Bras region.

Les statues d’Angkor sont aujourd’hui internationalement connues. Cette notoriété est une construction historicisée, qui commence au début du XXe siècle avec la naissance de l’archéologie, la création de musées et l’importation des techniques de conservation et de restauration au Cambodge. Ces pratiques et ces structures se développent avec la mise en place du protectorat français par le biais d’une institution de recherche scientifique : l’Ecole Française d’Extrême-Orient (EFEO), dont dépend la Conservation d’Angkor fondée en 1908. Les sculptures retrouvées dans les ruines d’Angkor sont d’abord rassemblées, créant un corpus d’œuvres déposées, au sein duquel sont prélevées des objets diffusés par la suite, créant ainsi plusieurs collections dans le pays et à l’étranger. Après la décolonisation, le Cambodge se réapproprie les collections restées sur son territoire, ainsi que les structures de gestion du patrimoine héritées du protectorat (en particulier le musée national à Phnom Penh), tout en aménageant la pérennité de la présence de l’EFEO à Angkor. Le développement des institutions nationales et françaises pour la gestion du patrimoine cambodgien connaît une interruption brutale avec la guerre civile qui frappe le pays dans les années 1970. La sortie difficile de ce conflit favorise le pillage ; le Cambodge doit trouver des solutions pour l’endiguer, et permettre le retour des œuvres volées. La reconstruction d’après-guerre est très largement soutenue par l’aide internationale. Celle-ci investit aussi dans le domaine du patrimoine, offrant à Angkor et à ses sculptures une promotion sans précédent, ainsi que de nouvelles structures pour l’exposition de ces dernières. Les évolutions politiques du Cambodge au XXe et au XXIe siècle conditionnent l’évolution des pratiques de la conservation, de la restauration et de la diffusion appliquées aux statues d’Angkor. / Nowadays, Angkorian statues are world renowned. Their fame being triggered in the early 20th century with the birth of archaeology, the creation of museums and the implementation of conservation and restoration techniques in Cambodia. These practices and structures spread throughout the country during the establishment of the French protectorate. This culminated in the creation of an institution of scientific research: The Ecole Française d’Extrême-Orient (EFEO) and its dependent Conservation d’Angkor created in 1908. The sculptures found in the ruins of Angkor temples were initially brought together, creating a corpus of deposits, in which artifacts were placed into various collections within the country and abroad. Following decolonization, responsibility for the collections was returned to Cambodia. This hand over was underpinned by the legacy of institutions created under the French protectorate, in particular the National Museum. At the same time, Cambodia arranged the sustainability of EFEO work in Angkor. The Civil War that afflicted the country in the late 70’s brutally interrupted the development of national and French institutions for the management of Cambodian heritage. The struggle to emerge from this conflict furthered the wide spread looting of many precious artefacts. Cambodia had to find solutions to prevent this ongoing problem, and to retrieve its stolen artworks. The country received International help to support post-conflict reconstruction. This assistance also involved in the field of heritage management of Angkor and its sculptures, and the creation of new venues for their exhibition. The change in the political landscape of Cambodia throughout the 20th and early 21th century has heavily influenced the evolution of conservation, restoration, and diffusion practices applied to Angkorian statues.

This dissertation reviews several different sources (i.e., local and foreign documents and archaeological data) in an effort to define and understand the settlement of ancient Angkor Borei, Takeo province, Cambodia, between 500 B.C. and A.D. 500. These sources include Chinese documentaries and inscriptions, and data from an archaeological excavation (AB4) undertaken in 1996 by the Lower Mekong Archaeological Project (LOMAP). Based on the descriptions of early Chinese document records, many Khmer and non-Khmer historians believe that Angkor Borei may have been a capital of one the earliest state/kingdoms in Southeast Asia. As early as the third century A.D., two Chinese diplomats documented the kingdom of Funan located west of Lin-yi in a great bay of the sea. The capitol was 500 li from the sea. On the basis of this account, many historians (Coedes, Briggs, Vickery, etc.) speculate that either Angkor Borei or Ba Phnom was the capitol of the Funan kingdom and Oc Eo was its international port city. Pierre Paris, using investigative aerial photography taken by Victor Goloubew, suggested that there was a canal running from Angkor Borei to Oc Eo in southern Vietnam. The actual site of Angkor Borei as we see it today is on a floodplain surrounded by a wall and an inner and an outer moat. A currently occupied village is built on top of this ancient city. Potsherds and architectural construction remains are scattered across and below the surface of this site. This research presented in this paper is divided into three phases: 1) a review of our knowledge of the site of Angkor Borei based on available documents (Chinese written records, inscriptions, early French archaeological investigation, etc); 2) classification of the ceramic collection of Angkor Borei according to shape, form, decoration, color, wall thickness, paste and other diagnostic characteristics; and 3) construction of the chronological sequences of AB4 and the site of Angkor Borei in general. Through a study of the ceramic collection from the AB4's excavation in 1996 and by use of radiometric dates, this study found six ceramic groups associated with three chronological phases. Phase I (500 - 200 B.C.) contains four ceramic groups, including Burnished Earthenware, Grayware, Slipped Ware, and Cord-marked Earthenware. Some vessel forms (i.e., pedestal bowl, short and tall flare rimmed jar, and carinated bowls) can also be attributed to Phase I. Fine Orangeware is the diagnostic ceramic of Phase II which dates from between 200 B.C. - A.D. 300/200. Cylindrical shaped vessel is the unique form of ceramic in the Fine Orangeware group. Phase III (A.D. 300/200 - 600) contains one ceramic group, Fine Buffware. This Fine Buffware can be found in two distinctive forms: Kendi and pedestalled vase. The results of this typological and chronological research have the potential of providing information on gross patterns of local production and manufacturing traditions through time at Angkor Borei. It will allow the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts of Cambodia and other researchers who are interested in the area and the general time frame (400 B.C - A.D. 500) to develop a more precise regional chronology of the Lower Mekong region of Cambodia.