Overview

The famous ruins at Angkor Wat in northwestern Cambodia are remnants of the ancient capital of the Khmer Empire, which at its height ruled much of Southeast Asia. The Angkor complex, which covered approximately 77 square miles (199 sq km), was the cultural center of the empire from the ninth through the fifteenth centuries.

Background

About 2,000 years ago, the people of Southeast Asia lived in simple settlements along the coast and in valleys suitable for farming. Their way of life involved growing rice and root crops, and raising pigs and water buffalo. Their religion was animistic; that is, they believed that spirits were associated with land, trees, rivers, mountains, and other natural objects. They also practiced ancestor worship.

Over the next few hundred years, Indian merchants began seeking sea routes for trade with China. Southeast Asia became a convenient way station...