“Our research shows that Angkor was certainly extensive enough, and that land-use was certainly intensive enough, to have impacted profoundly on the regional ecology”. Angkor was surrounded by a vast expanse of rice fields that would have required extensive forest clearance. Over time, the intense farming could have led to serious ecological problems, including those associated with deforestation, overpopulation, topsoil degradation and erosion. The consequence of overexploiting the environment isn’t the only lesson Angkor’s fate has for modern society. Angkor required a massive infrastructural network of canals and roads to keep it running.

• Uncategorized