![]() The evidence suggests that material changes are directly interlinked with politico-religious strategies. ![]() Technological interaction leads us to consider the broader impact that developments in the iron and temple architecture industries had across Angkor's economy and whether those developments correlate with new ideas or access to new resources. We find a correspondence between the permanent switch to sandstone and the increased use of iron from the Phnom Dek region, the largest source of iron ore in Cambodia. Multidisciplinary analysis based on archaeometallurgical evidence is used to test the impact of iron technology on the changes in Angkorian temples between the 11th and 13th centuries. Technological interaction is used to evaluate how the Angkorian Khmer Empire used temple architecture to expand elite interests within the capital regions. Brian Arthur's Complexity Economics with multi-scalar evidence we investigate how changes in individual technologies act as material 'sparks' that enabled states and empires to dynamically transform over their history. This paper presents a framework for identifying catalysts of expansionary phases of premodern states and empires. Indeed, scholars have referred to the presence or absence of such features as one source of evidence for dating the remains. Since a number of different architectural styles succeeded one another during the Angkorean period, not all of these features were equally in evidence throughout the period. The religious architecture of Angkor has characteristic structures, elements, and motifs, which are identified in the glossary below. Non-religious buildings such as dwellings were constructed of perishable materials such as wood, and so have not survived. During the period of Angkor, only temples and other religious buildings were constructed of stone. In any study of Angkorian architecture, the emphasis is necessarily on religious architecture, since all the remaining Angkorian buildings are religious in nature. ![]() The period of Angkor is the period in the history of the Khmer Empire from approximately the later half of the 8th century AD to the first half of the 15th century CE. The broad moat around the complex represented the oceans that surround the world. Based on Dravidian architecture, it was designed as a pyramid representing the structure of the universe: the highest level at the center of the temple represented Mount Meru, the home of the Hindu gods, with the five towers on the highest level representing the five peaks of the mountain. Constructed under the direction of the Khmer king Suryavarman II, it was to serve as the monarch's personal mausoleum and as a temple to the Hindu god Vishnu. The 12th-century temple of Angkor Wat is the masterpiece of Angkorian architecture. If, as endorsed here, Angkor temples were microcosmic models of the cosmos, then arguably, solstice alignments connected the temples to the cyclic movement of the cosmos as manifested by the solar cycle. The multiplicity of solstice alignments combined with other data suggest that it was important for Angkor temples to be connected to the sun. More than seventy solstice alignments were thus identified. Subsequent to ground and aerial reconnaissance of the above sites, archaeoastronomic assessments were made using Google Earth, with solstice azimuths calculated using standard protocols. In this article multiple solstice alignments are identified for Angkor Wat and eleven nearby temples to include: Bakong, Phnom Bakheng, Phnom Bok, Phnom Krom, East Mebon, Pre Rup, Banteay Srei, Ta Keo, Baphuon, Preah Khan, and Bayon. In addition to the equinox alignment, however, there are other alignments at Angkor Wat and many of the surrounding temples. ![]() Each year thousands of visitors make the pilgrimage to Angkor Wat to witness the equinox sunrise over the temple’s lotus-shaped towers. Built in the early twelfth century, Angkor Wat is one of the world’s largest ancient religious structures. ![]()
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