Societal response to monsoonal fluctuations in NE Thailand during the demise of Angkor Civilisation

A gradual decline in monsoon intensity, starting around AD 1000, likely stretched Angkor's hydrological systems to their limit, contributing significantly to the civilization's demise by the mid-15th century. This finding is supported by hydrogen and carbon isotope records of leaf waxes from a 2000-year wetland sequence in northeastern Thailand, near Angkor's northern boundary. The study reveals that while increased summer monsoon rains initially bolstered Angkor's agrarian economy and empire, extreme droughts and long-term monsoonal fluctuations, combined with urbanization, overwhelmed the civilization's resilient hydrological systems. Anthropogenic flooding of wetlands through dam construction, evident from around AD 1300, suggests societal adaptation to monsoonal variability, but ultimately proved insufficient against prolonged aridity.

Yamoah, K. A., Higham, C. F., Wohlfarth, B., Chabangborn, A., Chawchai, S., Schenk, F., & Smittenberg, R. H. (2017). Societal response to monsoonal fluctuations in NE Thailand during the demise of Angkor Civilisation. The Holocene, 27(10), 1455–1464. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683617693900