The transition to history in the mekong delta: A view from Cambodia

Abstract

This article discusses methodological issues associated with the use of documentary and archaeological data to interpret the early historic period of southern Cambodia. Developments in the Lower Mekong region are used as a case study, and where the polity of "Funan" reputedly flourished from the second to the sixth centuries A.D. A variety of data sources available to us now-Chinese historical accounts, inscriptions, local oral traditions, and archaeological materials-suggests that this early historic polity was a unique mixture of ritual, economic, and political activity. Discussion concentrates on the site of Angkor Borei (Takeo Province, Cambodia), where the Lower Mekong Archaeological Project (LOMAP) has undertaken research since 1995. © 1998 Plenum Publishing Corporation.