From the Southern Capitals to Angkor: Reconfiguring Theravāda Monastic Space through Sīmā Stones and Stupas in Cambodia (13th-16th Centuries)

SHIMODA Mariko1*, Martin Polkinghorne2, NHIM Sotheavin3, LAM Sopheak4, SUY Pov2, LENG Vitou5, PHON Kaseka6, SATO Yuni4, and Belinda Duke2

The period between the late fourteenth and sixteenth centuries in Cambodian history is marked by a scarcity of written sources, leaving the social and religious transformations from the late Angkorian period to the era of the southern capitals insufficiently understood. During this time, the royal order associated with Hinduism and Mahāyāna Buddhism declined, while Theravāda Buddhism gradually became established as the dominant religious tradition. By the fifteenth century, the political centre shifted from Angkor to southern Cambodia, accompanied by broader changes in religious and social organisation. However, how these developments were reflected in religious practice and temple space remains unclear. This paper reconsiders these processes through archaeological and architectural evidence from Theravāda Buddhist monasteries. Drawing on recent investigations in the Tuol Basan and Longvek regions, it focuses on two key elements of monastic space – sīmā boundary stones and stupas – and examines their morphological and spatial changes from Angkor to southern Cambodia. The analysis demonstrates that significant transformations in the form and arrangement of these elements occurred between the late fourteenth and sixteenth centuries. New spatial patterns became prominent in the southern regions and were later adopted in monastic contexts in Angkor. These findings suggest that key developments in Theravāda monastic space first emerged in the southern regions and were subsequently incorporated into the Angkorian landscape. By examining these elements together, this study reconstructs aspects of religious practice not visible in textual sources and offers new archaeological perspectives on Cambodia’s historical transformation.