Mannikka takes the reader on a detailed tour of Angkor Wat, moving from the western entrance bridge, across the long causeway to the central galleries, and up to the central tower itself, showing what the design of the temple tells us about Khmer beliefs regarding their king, their deities, and the world around them. Detailed temple plans illustrating measurement patterns and numerous photographs of all parts of the temple accompany the text. Angkor Wat: Time, Space, and Kingship shows clearly the role that astronomy, history, cosmology, and politics can play in determining a structure's format and dimensions. The new methods of architectural analysis pioneered here will serve as a model for architectural historians in Asia and elsewhere.
Sacred presents photographs of locations cloaked in mysticism and imbued with a spiritual energy, exploring the meaning of the sacred in a global, multicultural context. Countless cultures have found it in the magnificence of nature and what can be called the divine gestures of the nature landscape. We looked to the majesty of snowcapped mountains, the glow of the full moon, the power of a magical waterfall, the endless sands of the Sahara Desert, the towering height of the tallest trees and the subtle essence of a lotus flower. We created remarkable buildings to the essence of what we felt to be sacred. What is sacred and what do cultures around the world consider sacred? What is sacred to a Muslim, a Tibetan monk, a Native American, a Christian elder, an atheist, a mountaineer, a poet or an artist? Chris Rainier has spent the last forty years in search of the sacred––from the peaks of Tibet to the icebergs of Antarctica, from the vibrant mysticism of India to the mysteries of the Silk Road, from the jungles of New Guinea to the druid stones of Scotland, and from the deserts of the Southwest United States to the rock art of aboriginal Australia and Africa. Rainier’s photographs masterfully capture the wonder and awe inherent to all these sites. Sacred presents photographs from this lifelong journey. The collection offers spiritually driven glimpses of ancient monuments and haunting landscapes from around the world––each echoing with the energy of timeless and sacred power places. RENOWN PHOTOGRAPHER AND AUTHOR: Chris Rainier is a documentary photographer and National Geographic explorer who is highly respected for his documentation of endangered cultures and traditional languages around the globe. AWARD-WINNING PHOTOGRAPHY: Rainier was Ansel Adams last photo assistant and has contributed numerous photographs for the United Nations, UNESCO, Amnesty International, Conservation International, the Smithsonian Institution, CNN, BBC, NPR, National Geographic, TIME magazine, the New York Times, and LIFE magazine. CELEBRATED CONTRIBUTORS: Over twelve internationally recognized contributors discuss what sacred means to them and include British essayist and novelist Pico Iyer; ethnographer, writer, photographer, and filmmaker Wade Davis; and Pulitzer Prize winner and National Geographic Fellow Paul Salopek.
This volume showcases some of the most current and exciting research being done on Cambodian religious ideas and practices by a new generation of scholars from a variety of disciplines. The different contributors examine in some manner the relationship between religion and the ideas and institutions that have given shape to Cambodia as a social and political body, or nation. Although they do not share the same approach to the idea of "nation," all are concerned with the processes of religion that give meaning to social interaction, which in some way includes "Cambodian" identity. Chapters touch on such far-reaching theoretical issues as the relation to religion of Southeast Asian polity; the nature of colonial religious transformation; "syncretism" in Southeast Asian Buddhism; the relation of religious icon to national identity, religion, and gender; transnationalism and social movements; and identity among diaspora communities. While much has been published on Cambodia's recent civil war and the Pol Pot period and its aftermath, few English language works are available on Cambodian religion. This book takes a major step in filling that gap, offering a broad overview of the subject that is relevant not only for the field of Cambodian studies, but also for students and scholars of Southeast Asian history, Buddhism, comparative religion, and anthropology. Contributors: Didier Bertrand, Penny Edwards, Elizabeth Guthrie, Hang Chan Sophea, Anne Hansen, John Marston, Kathryn Poethig, Ashley Thompson, Teri Shaffer Yamada.
A travel guide to the world's most sacred locales offers travel tips and detailed maps to the Great Pyramid, Easter Island, the Himalayas, Ayers Rock, Chaco Canyon, Jericho, Delphi, Stonehenge, and Mayan ruins, among other sites of spiritual importance. Original.
The Khmer empire, which at its height covered the whole of present-day Cambodia and most of Thailand, flourished over 500 years. At its heart was Angkor Wat, the largest religious monument in the world, built during the reign of the Khmer king Suryavarman II, in the first half of the twelfth century. The temple was dedicated to Vishnu, and its magnificent architecture mirrored in microcosm the entire Hindu universe. To enhance its sacred nature, over 600 meters of bas-reliefs were carved on the walls of the third enclosure illustrating battles and processions, Heavens and Hells and the creation myth. Following the great success of Vittorio Roveda's Khmer Mythology , which unraveled the stories and significance of the relief carvings of numerous Khmer, the author returns to Angkor Wat to examine the magnificent carvings of the long galleries, the corner pavilions, pediments, lintels, as well as the lesser-known sculpted tapestry reliefs. The gradual reading of the reliefs as pages of an ancient book unravel the religious and secular symbolism with which Angkor Wat was imbued by the Khmers in the XII century. Aided by the photography of Jaroslav Poncar, Vittorio Roveda reveals the iconographic intricacies of this magnificent temple as never before.
Ancient Civilizations offers a comprehensive and straightforward account of the world’s first civilizations and how they were discovered, drawing on many avenues of inquiry including archaeological excavations, surveys, laboratory work, highly specialized scientific investigations, and both historical and ethnohistorical records. This book covers the earliest civilizations and the great powers in the Near East, moving on to the first Aegean civilizations, the Mediterranean world in the first millennium, Imperial Rome, northeast Africa, the divine kings in southeast Asia, and empires in East Asia, as well as early states in the Americas and Andean civilization. Ancient Civilizations includes a number of features to support student learning: a wealth of images, including several new illustrations; feature boxes which expand on key sites, finds and written sources; and an extensive guide to further reading. With new perceptions of the origin and collapse of states, including a review of the issue of sustainability, this fourth edition has been extensively updated in the light of spectacular new discoveries and the latest theoretical advances. Examining the world’s pre-industrial civilizations from a multidisciplinary perspective and offering a comparative analysis of the field which explores the connections between all civilizations around the world, Scarre and Fagan, both established authorities on world prehistory, provide a valuable introduction to pre-industrial civilizations in all their brilliant diversity.
A journey of the hidden ancient wonders of Cambodia from the prehistoric through to the 19th century, with full-color photos of over 350+ sites including every standing temple in Cambodia from the Ancient Funan, Chenla, and Angkorian eras. Including an introduction to History, Temple Typology & Construction, and, an illustrated introduction to the Evolution of Khmer Art over 2000 years. Rod and Chanthim's journey across Cambodia is one of passion, adventure, and discovery. Over the course of 6 years, they traveled over 30,000 kilometers on small motorbikes, visiting over 1,500 archaeological and heritage sites. Along the way, they collected over 100,000 photographs of well-known sites along with the remote and unknown wonders still hidden deep within the clutches of the Cambodian jungle. This book is a collection of their photographs and research providing an informative visual feast that will transport you to the ancient Hindu and Buddhist temples of Angkor and well beyond. Through clear photos, the 350+ standing temples of ancient Cambodia are introduced (sites that are mostly whole, structure above the lintel, or otherwise of interest) province by province with maps. The book also features over 150 illustrations to introduce temple typology and features, gods, guardians, devata through time, diverse artifacts, and, the evolution of Khmer art over the chronological style periods: Prehistory 6th c - Phnom Da 7th c - Thala Borivat/Early Sambor 7th c - Sambor Prei Kuk, Prasat Andet, Prei Khmeng 8th c - Kampong Preah 9th c - Kulen, Preah Ko 10th c - Bakheng, Koh Ker, Pre Rup, Banteay Srei 11th c - Khleang & Baphuon 12th c - Angkor Wat 12th-13th c - Bayon 13th-15th c - Post-Bayon/Late Angkor 15th-19th c - Post-Angkorian Whether you are a student of history, a seasoned traveler, or simply an armchair adventurer, this book is a must-have for anyone who has ever dreamed of exploring and studying ancient Cambodia.
