Archaeology of

the Khmer
Empire

LI: To understand where the

Khmer Empire was located, and
the when their empire existed.
SC: I will be able to identify the
Khmer Empire on a map and
describe the Khmer region.
What can the archaeological sources
uncover?
 Legendary History and the Trouble with Sources
• Many details of the history of South-East Asian societies are still
a mystery.
• The only written primary sources from most South-East Asian
societies during this period are inscriptions on materials such as
stone pillars and gold foil.
• Sources from other societies can provide more information. For
example, Chinese records discuss contact with parts of South-
East Asia.
• The most useful of these is an account written by Zhou Daguan,
a Chinese diplomat who stayed at the Khmer royal court at
Angkor in 1296–7. Also, from the sixteenth century, we have
records from European contacts.
 Archaeological evidence
• The most impressive evidence of the Khmer Empire
comes from archaeological sites, especially temples.
• The most impressive of all the temple complexes is at
Angkor, the capital of the Khmer Empire at the height
of its power.
• Angkor’s temples were originally Hindu temples, but
they later became Buddhist temples and had images
of the Buddha added to them.
• Inscriptions in the Angkor temples tell us about
religion and rulers. Source 1: A relief sculpture at the Bayon Temple in
• Relief sculptures, such as the one in Source 1 , show Angkor Thom, Cambodia. It was carved between the
scenes that include peasants ploughing fields, women end of the twelfth century and the beginning of the
in childbirth, market scenes, palace life and soldiers thirteenth century. It depicts the Khmer army going
going to war. to war against Champa, a Hindu kingdom that
• Evidence from Angkor helps us to gain an controlled much of central and southern Vietnam
until the late fifteenth century.
understanding of neighbouring societies such as the
emerging kingdoms in Thailand that were influenced
by Angkor.
 Archaeological evidence…
inquiry and questioning
Source 2: Enormous sculpted
faces tower over the Bayon
Temple at Angkor.
Answer these questions in your books!
1. Study Source 1:
a) Describe the details of this relief
sculpture.
b) How are the Khmer soldiers dressed
and armed?
c) Who do you think the figure on the
elephant would most likely be? Why?
d) What role do you think elephants
might have played in such wars?
2. What kinds of crafts or skills would have
been needed to create Sources 1, 2 and 3?
3. How would a society have to be
organised to enable it to create such works Source 3: A relief sculpture at Angkor
4. Write three questions you would use to
focus your research if you were using
Sources 2 and 3 as evidence for an
investigation of the history of Angkor.
Ancient Megastructures! Comp
while lete me
you w
atch!

Before we examine some of the sources of the

Khmer empire, we need to examine some of its
major structures and temples.

https://online.clickview.com.au/exchange/video
s/32553/angkor-wat
 Bayon Temple Reliefs
We will be using archaeological sources and
relief carvings to tell us more about Ancient
Khmer society. We will do this by examining
the Bayon Temple Reliefs and completing
the activities on the next few slides. What
will I need?
1. The handouts from your teacher!
2. Your exercise books.
3. Your best thinking caps and analysis
skills!
4. Effort and a ‘can do’ attitude!
Cooking!
 Task 1 – Source Analysis Use me
to
complet
Use the visual primary sources of the e your
source a
Bayon Temple reliefs to analyse aspects nalyses!
of the daily life of the people of Angor
Wat.
Use the source analysis scaffold to guide
you analyses for FOUR sources.

Makeup
time!
 Task 2 – ‘Describe’ extended Use me
to help
response structur
e your
respons
Using: e!
1. The information gathered from your
source anaylsis of FOUR of the Bayon
Temple reliefs, AND
2. The scaffold shown here
‘Describe how the reliefs add to our
understanding of daily life in Angkor
Wat.’
Review – Exit Slip!
Complete your exit slip in your
books underneath the work
you have completed in your
lesson today!
• 3 things you learnt
• 2 things your found
interesting
• 1 question you still have