Old Myths and New Approaches: Interpreting Ancient Religious Sites in Southeast Asia

Description

This book brings together the latest research by leading experts in their fields on both mainland and peninsular Southeast Asia, who approach the sites from a range of perspectives and disciplines. Contributions cover sites from Burma, the early and Angkor-period Cambodia and Vietnam on the mainland to temples in Java and Bali, and subject matters from water and traffic management to usage of sites and the representation of sacredness in ancient texts. The books three sections examine the interrelationship between the sites and their wider surroundings, the actual physical remains, and the social relations to the surrounding community. The extensive range of sites and topics covered in this volume provides a detailed insight into the most up-to-date research approaches and allows a truly comparative, inter-disciplinary understanding of Southeast Asia in the pre-modern era. Through its exceptional approach, this tome will be invaluable to academics and students of historical Southeast Asia and the interested general public alike.

Dr. Alexandra Haendel received her PhD from the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, and is currently an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Monash Asia Institute. Her research focuses on the relationship between space and usage in Hindu-Buddhist foundations in South and Southeast Asia, in particular how this relates to the prescriptions given in ancient texts. (Formerly of Monash University).