The history of Cambodia is challenging to study due to limited historical records. During the Angkor period, temple libraries held texts on tanned skins or palm leaves. Unfortunately, these were not preserved by later generations, and none remain today. While stone steles at temples recorded details mainly related to temple activities, they ceased being updated after the fall of Angkor. Still, these inscriptions, along with records from Chinese traders and envoys, have enabled historians to reconstruct parts of Cambodia’s history up to the late 13th century.

Although foreign traders and Western missionaries documented aspects of Cambodia’s culture and events after the 16th century, significant gaps remain. In modern times, the French meticulously recorded details during their protectorate period, yet most of these documents were destroyed under the Khmer Rouge regime. Consequently, Cambodia’s history remains fragmented, with many aspects inferred, while other parts are likely to remain forever unknown.

Early Beginnings

Archaeological evidence shows that Cambodia’s earliest settlements, dating back to 6800 BC, were located along the coast, where residents could avoid annual floods and find abundant food resources. By 4300 BC, hunter-gatherers were settled in caves at Leang Spean, northwest of Battambang, cultivating rice during the dry season and crafting ceramics with designs similar to those seen today. Excavations at Samrong Sen, in central Cambodia, reveal that by 2000 BC, inhabitants had domesticated animals and practiced slash-and-burn agriculture. Around 1500 BC, Cambodia entered the Bronze Age with advancements in copper and tin smelting, likely sourced from nearby Thailand.

By 500 BC, an Iron Age civilization had emerged, marked by agricultural productivity and the production of tools, weapons, and finely crafted ceramics, metals, and glass items. Populations gradually diverged: those in the highlands continued to grow rice only during the rainy season, while lowland communities cultivated river valleys and coastal areas. These lowland settlers harnessed seasonal flooding, implementing irrigation systems for dry-season farming, which allowed them to thrive on the nutrient-rich soils.