Doctoral Dissertation Research: POLITICAL ECONOMY AND STATE FORMATION OF PRE-ANGKORIAN CAMBODIA: A VIEW FROM THALA BORIVAT

University Of Hawaii, Honolulu

Investigators

Abstract

Under the guidance of Dr. Miriam Stark, Heng Piphal will study settlement patterns and materials associated with the pre-Angkorian site of Thala Borivat in Stoeng Treng province, Cambodia. Thala Borivat is located along the Mekong River, and served as a regional center in the lower Mekong Basin between the 6th and 9th centuries CE. The site is of particular importance because its distinctive lintel style (found on brick temples from the site) is echoed across the lower Mekong and may reflect a period of political dominance by a polity centered on the Thala Borivat region. This research is unique because little archaeological research in the region has been done previously, and because the epigraphic record suggests the region's importance in controlling trade routes between the Mekong basin and what is now Laos. Mr. Heng's research combines spatial analysis techniques with systematic excavations to determine the timing, scale and nature of this poorly-documented region. Scholars now agree that early polities arose in several parts of the lower Mekong basin during the first millennium CE, and laid the groundwork for the Angkorian Empire that dominated the region a few centuries later. However, few field-based archaeological projects have documented developments associated with this pre-Angkorian period. The case of Thala Borivat is particularly salient because of its association with both a distinctive and widespread art style, and epigraphic suggestions of a power base in the region. Knowledge of settlement configuration and associated archaeological assemblages is essential to placing this pre-Angkorian center into the Mekong basin chronology. Work through this project will also produce archaeological data for macroregional comparisons across the basin that are critical for evaluating how interregional interaction shaped the subsequent emergence of mainland Southeast Asia's largest state. Combining spatial, archaeological, epigraphic, and art historical data to study the Thala Borivat site in its local and regional contexts expands the knowledge base of early Southeast Asian state formation and offers a valuable case for comparative study. This research will have a broader impact beyond the production of archaeological knowledge. Both data recovery and data analysis phases of the project weave together research with training undergraduates from the Archaeology Faculty at the Royal University of Fine Arts (Phnom Penh, Cambodia). Results from the project will be shared through public outreach programs with local communities in Stoeng Treng province, and with the academic community through peer-reviewed English-language publications and Khmer publications. These efforts will seek to improve public understanding of science, archaeology, and anthropology. Primary data will be available through the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts (Cambodia), and will form the basis of undergraduate theses for archaeology students in Cambodia. By incorporating training into the research program, mentoring undergraduate students, and collaborating closely with Cambodian institutions, this research will revise archaeological and popular understandings of the Cambodian past, and open avenues for future inquiry.