I currently a postdoctoral scholar at UCLA-Cotsen Institute of Archaeology. I received my degree in archaeology from the Cambodia's Royal University of Fine Arts in 2002 and my MA and PhD degree in Anthropology from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (2018). I was a ACLS-Robert H. N. Ho postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies & Department of Anthropology, Northern Illinois University from 2019 to 2021. My archaeological research themes include religious change, urbanism, settlement patterns, political economy, and sociopolitical organizational shift. I am also interested in the intersection between heritage management, collaborative/public archaeology, knowledge production, and urban development. My current project explores the transformation of urban and rural settlements in response to the demographic and political changes that took place with the adoption of Theravada Buddhism in Angkor (14th-18th century Cambodia).
Handbook of East and Southeast Asian Archaeology, 2017
This paper aims to provide a glimpse into the sociopolitical settings of current archaeology in C... more This paper aims to provide a glimpse into the sociopolitical settings of current archaeology in Cambodia. The archaeological training got a late start in Cambodia, beginning in 1968, and its first graduates were forced to confront a series of complications: social unrest, civil wars, and lootings. In the 1990s, National and international efforts revived and trained a new generation of archaeologists. The setting in which this new generation practices, unlike their predecessors, is not one of warfare but rather of continued lootings and developments that result in a large number of archaeological sites being destroyed for prime real estates and new road constructions without proper salvage research. However, in a few cases, some archaeologists are employed merely as salaried workers and data collectors for their international counterparts. Though the majority of research continues to be in Angkor and around large monuments, some projects have shifted focus to study early periods loca...
The Greater Angkor Region was home to approximately 700,000 to 900,000 inhabitants at its apogee ... more The Greater Angkor Region was home to approximately 700,000 to 900,000 inhabitants at its apogee in the 13th century CE.
Considerable attention has been devoted to the architecture and art history of Cambodia's Ang... more Considerable attention has been devoted to the architecture and art history of Cambodia's Angkor Wat temple in the last century. There has, however, been little research on the functions and internal organisation of the large rectangular enclosure surrounding the temple. Such enclosures have long been assumed to have been sacred precincts, or perhaps ‘temple-cities’: work exploring the archaeological patterning for habitation within them has been limited. The results of LiDAR survey and excavation have now revealed evidence for low-density residential occupation in these areas, possibly for those servicing the temple. Recent excavations within the enclosure challenge our traditional understanding of the social hierarchy of the Angkor Wat community and show that the temple precinct, bounded by moat and wall, may not have been exclusively the preserve of the wealthy or the priestly elite.
... 1, June 2003, www.ari.nus.edu.sg/pub/wps.htm. Asia Research Institute Editorial Committee Maz... more ... 1, June 2003, www.ari.nus.edu.sg/pub/wps.htm. Asia Research Institute Editorial Committee Maznah Binti Mohamad - Chair Anjali Gera Roy Gregory Clancey Peter Wolfgang Marolt Tim Bunnell Venni Venkata Krishna Zaide Joyce Valerie Yeo ...
HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific r... more HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés. The Angkorian city: From Hariharalaya to Yashodharapura Miriam Stark, Alison Carter, Piphal Heng, Rachna Chhay, Damian Evans
Handbook of East and Southeast Asian Archaeology, 2017
This paper aims to provide a glimpse into the sociopolitical settings of current archaeology in C... more This paper aims to provide a glimpse into the sociopolitical settings of current archaeology in Cambodia. The archaeological training got a late start in Cambodia, beginning in 1968, and its first graduates were forced to confront a series of complications: social unrest, civil wars, and lootings. In the 1990s, National and international efforts revived and trained a new generation of archaeologists. The setting in which this new generation practices, unlike their predecessors, is not one of warfare but rather of continued lootings and developments that result in a large number of archaeological sites being destroyed for prime real estates and new road constructions without proper salvage research. However, in a few cases, some archaeologists are employed merely as salaried workers and data collectors for their international counterparts. Though the majority of research continues to be in Angkor and around large monuments, some projects have shifted focus to study early periods loca...
The Greater Angkor Region was home to approximately 700,000 to 900,000 inhabitants at its apogee ... more The Greater Angkor Region was home to approximately 700,000 to 900,000 inhabitants at its apogee in the 13th century CE.
Considerable attention has been devoted to the architecture and art history of Cambodia's Ang... more Considerable attention has been devoted to the architecture and art history of Cambodia's Angkor Wat temple in the last century. There has, however, been little research on the functions and internal organisation of the large rectangular enclosure surrounding the temple. Such enclosures have long been assumed to have been sacred precincts, or perhaps ‘temple-cities’: work exploring the archaeological patterning for habitation within them has been limited. The results of LiDAR survey and excavation have now revealed evidence for low-density residential occupation in these areas, possibly for those servicing the temple. Recent excavations within the enclosure challenge our traditional understanding of the social hierarchy of the Angkor Wat community and show that the temple precinct, bounded by moat and wall, may not have been exclusively the preserve of the wealthy or the priestly elite.
... 1, June 2003, www.ari.nus.edu.sg/pub/wps.htm. Asia Research Institute Editorial Committee Maz... more ... 1, June 2003, www.ari.nus.edu.sg/pub/wps.htm. Asia Research Institute Editorial Committee Maznah Binti Mohamad - Chair Anjali Gera Roy Gregory Clancey Peter Wolfgang Marolt Tim Bunnell Venni Venkata Krishna Zaide Joyce Valerie Yeo ...
HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific r... more HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés. The Angkorian city: From Hariharalaya to Yashodharapura Miriam Stark, Alison Carter, Piphal Heng, Rachna Chhay, Damian Evans
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https://authors.elsevier.com/c/1bZ8C... more Free PDF download available until Oct 1, 2020 at this link: https://authors.elsevier.com/c/1bZ8C8MrPs63pY
The Angkorian Empire was at its peak from the 10th to 13th centuries CE. It wielded great influence across mainland Southeast Asia and is now one of the most archaeologically visible polities due to its expansive re- ligious building works. This paper presents archaeobotanical evidence from two of the most renowned Angkorian temples largely associated with kings and elites, Angkor Wat and Ta Prohm. But it focuses on the people that dwelt within the temple enclosures, some of whom were involved in the daily functions of the temple. Archaeological work indicates that temple enclosures were areas of habitation within the Angkorian urban core and the temples and their enclosures were ritual, political, social, and economic landscapes. This paper provides the first attempt to reconstruct some aspects of the lives of the non-elites living within the temple enclosures by examining the archaeobotanical evidence, both macroremains and phytoliths, from residential contexts and data derived from inscriptions and Zhou Daguan's historical account dating to the 13th century CE. Research indicates that plants found within the temple enclosure of Ta Prohm and Angkor Wat were grown for ritual or medicinal use, and also formed important components of the diet and household economy.
The Angkorian Empire was at its peak from the 10th to 13th centuries CE. It wielded great influen... more The Angkorian Empire was at its peak from the 10th to 13th centuries CE. It wielded great influence across mainland Southeast Asia and is now one of the most archaeologically visible polities due to its expansive religious building works. This paper presents archaeobotanical evidence from two of the most renowned Angkorian temples largely associated with kings and elites, Angkor Wat and Ta Prohm. But it focuses on the people that dwelt within the temple enclosures, some of whom were involved in the daily functions of the temple. Archaeological work indicates that temple enclosures were areas of habitation within the Angkorian urban core and the temples and their enclosures were ritual, political, social, and economic landscapes. This paper provides the first attempt to reconstruct some aspects of the lives of the non-elites living within the temple enclosures by examining the archaeobotanical evidence, both macroremains and phytoliths, from residential contexts and data derived from inscriptions and Zhou Daguan's historical account dating to the 13th century CE. Research indicates that plants found within the temple enclosure of Ta Prohm and Angkor Wat were grown for ritual or medicinal use, and also formed important components of the diet and household economy.
Angkor is one of the world’s largest premodern settlement complexes (9th to 15th centuries CE), b... more Angkor is one of the world’s largest premodern settlement complexes (9th to 15th centuries CE), but to date, no comprehensive demographic study has been completed, and key aspects of its population and demographic history remain unknown. Here, we combine lidar, archaeological excavation data, radiocarbon dates, and machine learning algorithms to create maps that model the development of the city and its population growth through time. We conclude that the Greater Angkor Region was home to approximately 700,000 to 900,000 inhabitants at its apogee in the 13th century CE. This granular, diachronic, paleodemographic model of the Angkor complex can be applied to any ancient civilization.
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Papers by Piphal Heng
https://authors.elsevier.com/c/1bZ8C8MrPs63pY
The Angkorian Empire was at its peak from the 10th to 13th centuries CE. It wielded great influence across mainland Southeast Asia and is now one of the most archaeologically visible polities due to its expansive re- ligious building works. This paper presents archaeobotanical evidence from two of the most renowned Angkorian temples largely associated with kings and elites, Angkor Wat and Ta Prohm. But it focuses on the people that dwelt within the temple enclosures, some of whom were involved in the daily functions of the temple. Archaeological work indicates that temple enclosures were areas of habitation within the Angkorian urban core and the temples and their enclosures were ritual, political, social, and economic landscapes. This paper provides the first attempt to reconstruct some aspects of the lives of the non-elites living within the temple enclosures by examining the archaeobotanical evidence, both macroremains and phytoliths, from residential contexts and data derived from inscriptions and Zhou Daguan's historical account dating to the 13th century CE. Research indicates that plants found within the temple enclosure of Ta Prohm and Angkor Wat were grown for ritual or medicinal use, and also formed important components of the diet and household economy.