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SUMMARY:Climate crises: their social\, technological and demographic impac
 t on the rise and fall of the Kingdom of Angkor - Charles Higham (Universi
 ty of Otago)
DTSTART:20180606T153000Z
DTEND:20180606T163000Z
UID:TALK105073@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Jaap Saers
DESCRIPTION:From about AD 200\, the strength of the summer monsoon in Sout
 heast Asia weakened\, leading to a period of increasing aridity. This stim
 ulated an agricultural revolution involving the construction of reservoirs
  and irrigation into permanent wet rice fields cultivated by ploughing. Th
 e social and demographic effects of this transition are explored through e
 xamining the houses and cemeteries of growing Iron Age towns\, identifying
  the rise of elites\, a sharp decline in human health\, and onset of resid
 ential burial. The impact of wet rice farming on the health of Iron Age co
 mmunities was immediate and profound. Increased population densities withi
 n Iron Age towns and the increasingly aquatic environment encouraged the p
 roliferation of pathogenic species. It is suggested that this affected wom
 en’s health\, seen in pre-term infant burials and a doubling of neonate 
 mortality.
LOCATION:Seminar Room\, Henry Wellcome Building\, Division of Biological A
 nthropology\, Fitzwilliam Street\, Cambridge\, CB2 3QG
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