Suchergebnisse

The early 21st century has seen vigorous scientific interest in the Asian monsoon and significant development of paleo-proxies of monsoon strength. These include the Monsoon Asian Drought Atlas – a 700-year, gridded reconstruction of hydroclimate derived from 327 tree ring records – and several long speleothem records from China and India. Similar progress has been made on the study of monsoon climate dynamics through re-analysis data products and General Circulation Model diagnostics. The story has emerged of a variable monsoon over the latter Holocene, with extended droughts and anomalously wet episodes that occasionally and profoundly influenced the course of human history. We focus on Southeast Asia where an anomalous period of unstable climate coincided with the demise of the capital of the Khmer Empire at Angkor between the 14th and the 16th centuries, and we suggest that protracted periods of drought and deluge rain events, the latter of which damaged Angkor's extensive water management systems, may have been a significant factor in the subsequent transfer of the political capital away from Angkor. The late 16th and early 17th century experienced climate instability and the collapse of the Ming Dynasty in China under a period of drought, while Tonkin experienced floods and droughts throughout the 17th century. The 18th century was a period of great turmoil across Southeast Asia, when all of the region's polities saw great unrest and rapid realignment during one of the most extended periods of drought of the past millennium. New paleo-proxy records and the incorporation of historical documentation will improve future analyses of the interaction between climate extremes, social behavior and the collapse or disruption of regional societies, a subject of increasing concern given the uncertainties surrounding projections for future climate.

International audience ; The Khmer Empire, based at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Angkor in Cambodia, rapidly extended their political influence across mainland Southeast Asia between the 11th and 13th c. AD. Traditionally, Angkor's power base is attributed to an elaborate bureaucratic system, regional centres, and road system. Lack of key resources around the capital suggests this network provided materials necessary to enhance a broad range of activities (e.g. construction efficiency, military capability,…). Iron with its technological characteristics and universal utility is known as being one of the most dynamic materials for facilitating social transformation. Reconstructing how iron was managed in the Khmer empire is therefore a critical perspective for drawing a socioeconomic context in terms of development of states and polities. The international IRANGKOR project was established to investigate the diachronic organization of iron consumption and distribution practices. In combination with the INDAP project, which focuses on the evidence of iron production, our broader aim is to address the overall impact that iron played in the processes of Angkorian state-building during this time period.

International audience ; The Khmer Empire, based at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Angkor in Cambodia, rapidly extended their political influence across mainland Southeast Asia between the 11th and 13th c. AD. Traditionally, Angkor's power base is attributed to an elaborate bureaucratic system, regional centres, and road system. Lack of key resources around the capital suggests this network provided materials necessary to enhance a broad range of activities (e.g. construction efficiency, military capability,…). Iron with its technological characteristics and universal utility is known as being one of the most dynamic materials for facilitating social transformation. Reconstructing how iron was managed in the Khmer empire is therefore a critical perspective for drawing a socioeconomic context in terms of development of states and polities. The international IRANGKOR project was established to investigate the diachronic organization of iron consumption and distribution practices. In combination with the INDAP project, which focuses on the evidence of iron production, our broader aim is to address the overall impact that iron played in the processes of Angkorian state-building during this time period.

International audience ; The Khmer Empire, based at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Angkor in Cambodia, rapidly extended their political influence across mainland Southeast Asia between the 11th and 13th c. AD. Traditionally, Angkor's power base is attributed to an elaborate bureaucratic system, regional centres, and road system. Lack of key resources around the capital suggests this network provided materials necessary to enhance a broad range of activities (e.g. construction efficiency, military capability,…). Iron with its technological characteristics and universal utility is known as being one of the most dynamic materials for facilitating social transformation. Reconstructing how iron was managed in the Khmer empire is therefore a critical perspective for drawing a socioeconomic context in terms of development of states and polities. The international IRANGKOR project was established to investigate the diachronic organization of iron consumption and distribution practices. In combination with the INDAP project, which focuses on the evidence of iron production, our broader aim is to address the overall impact that iron played in the processes of Angkorian state-building during this time period.

International audience ; The Khmer Empire, based at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Angkor in Cambodia, rapidly extended their political influence across mainland Southeast Asia between the 11th and 13th c. AD. Traditionally, Angkor's power base is attributed to an elaborate bureaucratic system, regional centres, and road system. Lack of key resources around the capital suggests this network provided materials necessary to enhance a broad range of activities (e.g. construction efficiency, military capability,…). Iron with its technological characteristics and universal utility is known as being one of the most dynamic materials for facilitating social transformation. Reconstructing how iron was managed in the Khmer empire is therefore a critical perspective for drawing a socioeconomic context in terms of development of states and polities. The international IRANGKOR project was established to investigate the diachronic organization of iron consumption and distribution practices. In combination with the INDAP project, which focuses on the evidence of iron production, our broader aim is to address the overall impact that iron played in the processes of Angkorian state-building during this time period.

International audience ; The Khmer Empire, based at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Angkor in Cambodia, rapidly extended their political influence across mainland Southeast Asia between the 11th and 13th c. AD. Traditionally, Angkor's power base is attributed to an elaborate bureaucratic system, regional centres, and road system. Lack of key resources around the capital suggests this network provided materials necessary to enhance a broad range of activities (e.g. construction efficiency, military capability,…). Iron with its technological characteristics and universal utility is known as being one of the most dynamic materials for facilitating social transformation. Reconstructing how iron was managed in the Khmer empire is therefore a critical perspective for drawing a socioeconomic context in terms of development of states and polities. The international IRANGKOR project was established to investigate the diachronic organization of iron consumption and distribution practices. In combination with the INDAP project, which focuses on the evidence of iron production, our broader aim is to address the overall impact that iron played in the processes of Angkorian state-building during this time period.

International audience ; The Khmer Empire, based at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Angkor in Cambodia, rapidly extended their political influence across mainland Southeast Asia between the 11th and 13th c. AD. Traditionally, Angkor's power base is attributed to an elaborate bureaucratic system, regional centres, and road system. Lack of key resources around the capital suggests this network provided materials necessary to enhance a broad range of activities (e.g. construction efficiency, military capability,…). Iron with its technological characteristics and universal utility is known as being one of the most dynamic materials for facilitating social transformation. Reconstructing how iron was managed in the Khmer empire is therefore a critical perspective for drawing a socioeconomic context in terms of development of states and polities. The international IRANGKOR project was established to investigate the diachronic organization of iron consumption and distribution practices. In combination with the INDAP project, which focuses on the evidence of iron production, our broader aim is to address the overall impact that iron played in the processes of Angkorian state-building during this time period.

As in most parts of the world, ancient Southeast Asian metal production and exchange has been accorded great importance as a cultural and technological development with far-reaching economic and political impacts. Here we present the results of the Southeast Asian Lead Isotope Project's 2009-2012 research campaign, a systematic effort to empirically reconstruct regional metal exchange networks and their attendant social interactions c. 1000BC-c. 500AD. The study's morpho-stylistic, technological, elemental and isotopic datasets cover early metal production (minerals and slag) and consumption (Cu, Cu-Sn, Cu-Pb, Cu-Sn-Pb alloys) assemblages from thirty sites in eight countries. These data have either identified or substantiated long-range maritime and terrestrial exchange networks connecting Han China and Mauryan India with most of continental Southeast Asia. The variety and intensity of the attested metal exchange behaviours hints at a dynamic and innovative 1st millennium BC regional economy and the vibrant exchange of cultural practices amongst populations separated by thousands of kilometres. Important too is the provision of indirect evidence for intra-regional economic integration between the Southeast Asia's metal-consuming lowland majorities and metal-producing upland minorities. Southeast Asia has a comparable surface area and present day population to Europe, and thus our efforts represent only the beginning for diachronic and multi-scalar metal exchange research. However, archaeometallurgical methodologies have the potential to greatly improve our understanding of Southeast Asia's vast cultural diversity and interconnectedness. With this paper we lay the framework for such an endeavour and, we hope, define the major questions for its next phase.

As in most parts of the world, ancient Southeast Asian metal production and exchange has been accorded great importance as a cultural and technological development with far-reaching economic and political impacts. Here we present the results of the Southeast Asian Lead Isotope Project's 2009-2012 research campaign, a systematic effort to empirically reconstruct regional metal exchange networks and their attendant social interactions c. 1000BC-c. 500AD. The study's morpho-stylistic, technological, elemental and isotopic datasets cover early metal production (minerals and slag) and consumption (Cu, Cu-Sn, Cu-Pb, Cu-Sn-Pb alloys) assemblages from thirty sites in eight countries. These data have either identified or substantiated long-range maritime and terrestrial exchange networks connecting Han China and Mauryan India with most of continental Southeast Asia. The variety and intensity of the attested metal exchange behaviours hints at a dynamic and innovative 1st millennium BC regional economy and the vibrant exchange of cultural practices amongst populations separated by thousands of kilometres. Important too is the provision of indirect evidence for intra-regional economic integration between the Southeast Asia's metal-consuming lowland majorities and metal-producing upland minorities. Southeast Asia has a comparable surface area and present day population to Europe, and thus our efforts represent only the beginning for diachronic and multi-scalar metal exchange research. However, archaeometallurgical methodologies have the potential to greatly improve our understanding of Southeast Asia's vast cultural diversity and interconnectedness. With this paper we lay the framework for such an endeavour and, we hope, define the major questions for its next phase.

International audience ; C'est à partir du site d'Angkor,au Cambodge,que l'Empire khmer étend entre les XIe et XIIIe siècles son influence politique et culturelle en Asie du Sud-Est continentale. Il est communément admis que la puissance de cet empire reposait sur la mise en place d'un réseau routier élaboré. L'absence de ressources en matières premières à proximité immédiate de la capitale angkorienne confère au réseau d'échanges conçu pour répondre aux nécessités d'approvisionnement une importance indéniable dans un contexte de fort développement. La dimension industrielle de l'exploitation des ressources, des procédés de fabrication et des circuits de distribution des produits devrait témoigner d'une telle mobilisation des activités socioéconomiques. Consommé sous diverses formes, le fer occupe une place essentielle dans l'économie des sociétés anciennes. Encore non documenté dans l'économie angkorienne, ce matériau représente un outil pertinent pour appréhender les réseaux d'échanges et les processus qui ont contribué au développement de l'Empire khmer.

International audience ; C'est à partir du site d'Angkor,au Cambodge,que l'Empire khmer étend entre les XIe et XIIIe siècles son influence politique et culturelle en Asie du Sud-Est continentale. Il est communément admis que la puissance de cet empire reposait sur la mise en place d'un réseau routier élaboré. L'absence de ressources en matières premières à proximité immédiate de la capitale angkorienne confère au réseau d'échanges conçu pour répondre aux nécessités d'approvisionnement une importance indéniable dans un contexte de fort développement. La dimension industrielle de l'exploitation des ressources, des procédés de fabrication et des circuits de distribution des produits devrait témoigner d'une telle mobilisation des activités socioéconomiques. Consommé sous diverses formes, le fer occupe une place essentielle dans l'économie des sociétés anciennes. Encore non documenté dans l'économie angkorienne, ce matériau représente un outil pertinent pour appréhender les réseaux d'échanges et les processus qui ont contribué au développement de l'Empire khmer.

International audience ; C'est à partir du site d'Angkor,au Cambodge,que l'Empire khmer étend entre les XIe et XIIIe siècles son influence politique et culturelle en Asie du Sud-Est continentale. Il est communément admis que la puissance de cet empire reposait sur la mise en place d'un réseau routier élaboré. L'absence de ressources en matières premières à proximité immédiate de la capitale angkorienne confère au réseau d'échanges conçu pour répondre aux nécessités d'approvisionnement une importance indéniable dans un contexte de fort développement. La dimension industrielle de l'exploitation des ressources, des procédés de fabrication et des circuits de distribution des produits devrait témoigner d'une telle mobilisation des activités socioéconomiques. Consommé sous diverses formes, le fer occupe une place essentielle dans l'économie des sociétés anciennes. Encore non documenté dans l'économie angkorienne, ce matériau représente un outil pertinent pour appréhender les réseaux d'échanges et les processus qui ont contribué au développement de l'Empire khmer.

International audience ; C'est à partir du site d'Angkor,au Cambodge,que l'Empire khmer étend entre les XIe et XIIIe siècles son influence politique et culturelle en Asie du Sud-Est continentale. Il est communément admis que la puissance de cet empire reposait sur la mise en place d'un réseau routier élaboré. L'absence de ressources en matières premières à proximité immédiate de la capitale angkorienne confère au réseau d'échanges conçu pour répondre aux nécessités d'approvisionnement une importance indéniable dans un contexte de fort développement. La dimension industrielle de l'exploitation des ressources, des procédés de fabrication et des circuits de distribution des produits devrait témoigner d'une telle mobilisation des activités socioéconomiques. Consommé sous diverses formes, le fer occupe une place essentielle dans l'économie des sociétés anciennes. Encore non documenté dans l'économie angkorienne, ce matériau représente un outil pertinent pour appréhender les réseaux d'échanges et les processus qui ont contribué au développement de l'Empire khmer.

International audience ; C'est à partir du site d'Angkor,au Cambodge,que l'Empire khmer étend entre les XIe et XIIIe siècles son influence politique et culturelle en Asie du Sud-Est continentale. Il est communément admis que la puissance de cet empire reposait sur la mise en place d'un réseau routier élaboré. L'absence de ressources en matières premières à proximité immédiate de la capitale angkorienne confère au réseau d'échanges conçu pour répondre aux nécessités d'approvisionnement une importance indéniable dans un contexte de fort développement. La dimension industrielle de l'exploitation des ressources, des procédés de fabrication et des circuits de distribution des produits devrait témoigner d'une telle mobilisation des activités socioéconomiques. Consommé sous diverses formes, le fer occupe une place essentielle dans l'économie des sociétés anciennes. Encore non documenté dans l'économie angkorienne, ce matériau représente un outil pertinent pour appréhender les réseaux d'échanges et les processus qui ont contribué au développement de l'Empire khmer.

International audience ; C'est à partir du site d'Angkor,au Cambodge,que l'Empire khmer étend entre les XIe et XIIIe siècles son influence politique et culturelle en Asie du Sud-Est continentale. Il est communément admis que la puissance de cet empire reposait sur la mise en place d'un réseau routier élaboré. L'absence de ressources en matières premières à proximité immédiate de la capitale angkorienne confère au réseau d'échanges conçu pour répondre aux nécessités d'approvisionnement une importance indéniable dans un contexte de fort développement. La dimension industrielle de l'exploitation des ressources, des procédés de fabrication et des circuits de distribution des produits devrait témoigner d'une telle mobilisation des activités socioéconomiques. Consommé sous diverses formes, le fer occupe une place essentielle dans l'économie des sociétés anciennes. Encore non documenté dans l'économie angkorienne, ce matériau représente un outil pertinent pour appréhender les réseaux d'échanges et les processus qui ont contribué au développement de l'Empire khmer.