Angkor, Among Others: Elements of the Development of Angkorian Urbanism Derived from the Archaeological Mapping of Large-Scale LiDAR Data

Adam P. Wijker

Twenty-five years ago, perspectives on premodern Khmer urbanism underwent a marked shift. Against the longstanding consensus view of the cities of the pre-Angkorian and Angkorian periods (c. 5th to 15th centuries CE) as a succession of walled spaces centred on royal temples, a new model was introduced identifying Angkor as an example of low-density urbanism, characterised by dispersed occupation, indistinct boundaries, and the intermingling of settled and agricultural space. Up to the present, however, little attention has been paid to the nature of settlements beyond the capital, and the assumption that these represented either straightforward precursors or microcosmic counterparts to the mode of urbanism identified at Angkor has not been seriously challenged. Now, based on a years-long effort of detailed archaeological cartography covering 4000 square kilometres of lidar imagery and embracing a range of pre-Angkorian and provincial settlement complexes in addition to Angkor itself, we are in a position to offer a broader perspective. The development of Angkorian urbanism can be traced from its pre-Angkorian roots, while quantitative analyses of the mapping results highlight processes of densification, increasingly rigid organisation, and progressive differentiation between urban and rural space. As a result, some of the claims of the low-density urbanism model – which has never been fully reconciled with the dense urban patterns revealed by the 2012 and 2015 lidar campaigns – must now be called into question. Set in a broader sequence, Angkor is revindicated, paradoxically, as perhaps a more conventional city than it has thus far been given credit for.