Abstract:

"This portrait of an ancient civilization traces the religious, social, and even political life which still animates Angkor. For six centuries, the fabled kingdom of Khmer was Cambodia's most flourishing civilization. In the beautiful setting of its capital, Angkor, master builders created magnificent temples--the most majestic and monumental was Angkor Wat, completed in the 12th century and the jewel in the crown of ancient Cambodian architecture. Today, the descendants of these early people still worship at this site, find a religious spirit in the statues, and read the stones: intricate bas-reliefs that tell of births, cooking, conflicts...everyday occurrences even then."