SEAA News Blog

Diachronic modeling of the population within the medieval Greater Angkor Region settlement complex

Authors: Sarah Klassen, Alison K. Carter, Damian H. Evans , Scott Ortman, Miriam T. Stark, Alyssa A. Loyless, Martin Polkinghorne, Piphal Heng, Michael Hill, Pelle Wijker, Jonathan Niles-Weed, Gary P. Marriner, Christophe Pottier , Roland J. Fletcher

Abstract: 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.

https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/7/19/eabf8441.full

On the advancement of agriculture during the Pre-Qin period in the Central Plain of China from archaeobotanical findings

BY Hua Zhong, Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

The Central Plain in China has been a core area of research, including on the origin of Chinese civilization, the process of social complexity, the formation of early states, etc. Throughout the Pre-Qin period, there were at least three profound changes in agriculture in this region. These developments demonstrate local advancements as well as deeply influencing trends of cultural development.

About the Project

The presence of Chinese material culture in Scotland has grown significantly over the last 200 years, much of it during Britain’s imperial expansion. However, Scottish collecting of Chinese material culture has never been studied through the lenses of critical collecting practices or decolonisation. The proposed PhD project will address this gap by researching Scottish collecting of Chinese objects in the early 20th century, currently held at NMS and selected Scottish museums.

Dear SEAA members and other scholars of East Asia,

On behalf of the SEAA Executive Board, it is my pleasure to announce the winners of the Student Award competition. Given in conjunction with SEAA conferences, the award is made to undergraduate and graduate students based on their submitted research papers. Each award consists of a $250 book prize, along with a complimentary 3-year membership in SEAA.

With the generous support of the Tang Center for Early China, the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at Columbia University is pleased to invite applications for a one-year Postdoctoral Research Scholar position in Early China Studies, to start on September 1, 2021, and end on August 31, 2022.