S42-3

An Archaeology of Religious Change in Angkor: Tracking the Transformation of Hinduism During the 13th -16th Centuries

Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, University of California, Los Angeles, U.S.A.

The transition to the Early Modern period Cambodia (c. 13th-16th centuries) is characterized by a series of religious changes from Hinduism, Mahayana Buddhism, and Theravada Buddhism followed by the collapse of Angkor political power, and southward capital shifts. Since Hindu/Mahayana stone temple construction supposedly ceased after the 13th century, a common approach to study religious change of this period has been to focus on the proliferation of Theravada architectural structures (stupa, pagoda, and transformation of Angkorian temples), and statuary. In this paper, I attempt to provide a complementary perspective by looking at the transformation of Hinduism from a prominent religion of the masses to an obscure royal court ritual of the early modern era. I argue that despite the paucity of data during this period, tracking Angkorian Hinduism transformation is possible using a combination of recent excavation results (from the Phum Archaeology Project) with art historical (carving and statuary) and epigraphic data.