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Foreign Correspondent: Mysteries of Angkor

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Stone cave house structures among trees
Foreign Correspondent: Mysteries of Angkor

SUBJECTS:  History

YEARS:  7–8


Did you know that around 800 years ago the world's biggest city was in Cambodia?

From the 10th century, Angkor was the capital of the Khmer Empire, which ruled a huge part of South-East Asia for around three centuries. But Angkor was abandoned in the 15th century.

Discover how modern archaeological techniques are now helping to solve some of Angkor's mysteries.


Things to think about

  1. 1.Archaeologists study sites where people lived in the past. The city of Angkor had a population of around a million people and covered about 1800 square kilometres, a huge area. How might viewing the ruins of Angkor from the air help archaeologists work out how the city functioned and why it was finally abandoned?
  2. 2.What methods did the Greater Angkor project use to get a clearer understanding of Angkor? What structures made by humans connected Angkor's network of temples, villages and moats? What clues about Angkor could be identified more easily from above than from ground level? Why might the relief sculptures depicting Khmer soldiers be useful sources for helping us to understand the power of the Khmer Empire?
  3. 3.According to the reporter, what eventually happened to Angkor's canals and water reservoirs and how did Angkor's system of water management contribute to the city's decline? Compare what you have discovered about Angkor with what you know about other past civilisations to decide whether you think the reporter is justified in calling Angkor 'perhaps the world's greatest civilisation'.
  4. 4.Other hypotheses that have been developed to explain Angkor's decline attribute it to such causes as war, conflict within the Khmer ruling family, religious change and climate change. Research at least one of these theories. List the evidence that supports it and explain why you find it more or less convincing than the theory suggested in this video.



Broadcast Date: 13 May 2008


Copyright

Metadata © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia Ltd 2012 (except where otherwise indicated). Digital content © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). Video © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). All images copyright their respective owners. Text © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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