Top-down and bottom-up water management: A diachronic model of changing water management strategies at Angkor, Cambodia

Research at Angkor, Cambodia, reveals that the Khmer Empire's water management strategies evolved from decentralized community-led efforts to centralized state-controlled systems. By integrating diverse archaeological datasets and creating diachronic models, scientists traced the emergence of temple communities alongside large-scale hydraulic infrastructure over 1000 km². The findings indicate a shift in power dynamics, with autonomous temple communities being gradually replaced by state-sponsored agricultural units, reflecting the empire's attempt to centralize production during its peak (9th to 15th centuries CE). This transformation underscores the complex interplay between top-down and bottom-up water management in shaping one of history's most sophisticated engineered landscapes.

Klassen, S., & Evans, D. (2020). Top-down and bottom-up water management: A diachronic model of changing water management strategies at Angkor, Cambodia. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 58, 101166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaa.2020.101166