SkillBuilder discussion Using historical sources 1. Use the information in SOURCE4 to identify the climate factors that may have contributed to Angkor’s decline. 2. How might tree rings help historians to understand what happened to the climate? 3. Discuss the impact of the climate factors on the Khmer.
SOURCE4 Climate as a contributing factor in the demise of Angkor, Cambodia, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2010
[Angkor] experienced decades-long drought interspersed with intense monsoons in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries that, in combination with other factors, contributed to its eventual demise. The climatic evidence comes from ... tropical southern Vietnamese tree rings ...
Royal family conflicts and retreat from the Tais Without doubt, other reasons were ongoing conflicts within the Khmer ruling family and attacks by the Tais. These attacks stripped the city of its wealth and people. After the Tais besieged Angkor for seven months in 1431, a new Cambodian capital was founded in the southeast near the modern capital, Phnom Penh. The move was significant as trade became more important to the Khmer economy. The new capital was located on a river much nearer to the sea and was therefore a more suitable site for Cambodia’s growing trade with China.
SOURCE5 Written by the Chinese diplomat Zhou Daguan, who stayed at Angkor in 1296–97
As a result of repeated wars with the Siamese [Tais] the land has been completely laid to waste.
8.9 SkillBuilder activity USING HISTORICAL SOURCES 1. Create a table with five columns. Label the columns from SOURCE1 to SOURCE5 . Each column will refer to a source in this lesson. 2. Study each source carefully and make notes on what they tell you about the changes that could have contributed to the weakening of the Khmer Empire. 3. Using your notes, write a paragraph suggesting four possible changes that could have contributed to the weakening of the Khmer Empire.
8.9
Exercise
Learning pathways LEVEL1 1, 2, 5
LEVEL2
LEVEL3
3, 4, 6
7, 8
REMEMBER AND UNDERSTAND 1. In which two places did the Khmer Empire lose territory after the death of Jayavarman VII?
A. Champa B. Vietnam C. Thailand D. Indonesia
Jacaranda Humanities Alive 8 Victorian Curriculum Third Edition
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