1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:03,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class from how 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:13,800 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,880 --> 00:00:16,760 Speaker 1: I'm Katie Lambert and I'm Sarah Dowdy. And if you've 4 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:19,160 Speaker 1: been listening to the podcast, you know how much Katie 5 00:00:19,160 --> 00:00:22,479 Speaker 1: and I love a good lost city. We've talked about 6 00:00:22,480 --> 00:00:25,480 Speaker 1: Atlantis recently, and a little while before that we talked 7 00:00:25,480 --> 00:00:29,480 Speaker 1: about the North Chico in South America. So these cities 8 00:00:29,520 --> 00:00:33,800 Speaker 1: that disappear, or empires that appear out of nowhere and 9 00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:38,240 Speaker 1: then disappear again seemed to fascinate us. So today we're 10 00:00:38,240 --> 00:00:41,360 Speaker 1: going to do the lost city of Anchor. And when 11 00:00:41,400 --> 00:00:43,319 Speaker 1: Sarah said this earlier, I was like, oh, you want 12 00:00:43,320 --> 00:00:45,800 Speaker 1: to talk about Anchor Watt and she said, no, there's 13 00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:48,479 Speaker 1: a lot more to it than that's just one temple, Katie. 14 00:00:48,720 --> 00:00:51,800 Speaker 1: So today it's ruins and peasants who grow rice in 15 00:00:51,880 --> 00:00:54,480 Speaker 1: northwestern Cambodia. That's what you think of when you're thinking 16 00:00:54,520 --> 00:00:57,520 Speaker 1: of Ancre Watt. But back in medieval times it was 17 00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:00,639 Speaker 1: something else. It was a very impress us, a very 18 00:01:00,800 --> 00:01:04,560 Speaker 1: huge city with a lot of amazing works of engineering. 19 00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:08,120 Speaker 1: But what went wrong? Well, to do that, let's start 20 00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:10,720 Speaker 1: out with a little bit of background on Anchor, which 21 00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:13,800 Speaker 1: starts in a D. Eight hundred and Sarah was saying, 22 00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:16,520 Speaker 1: it's lovely to be able to start with one person 23 00:01:16,720 --> 00:01:21,080 Speaker 1: instead of the people from this river came and exactly 24 00:01:21,280 --> 00:01:24,479 Speaker 1: nice to have one warrior type guy coming into the 25 00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:27,399 Speaker 1: picture early on. And in this case it's a powerful 26 00:01:27,440 --> 00:01:31,960 Speaker 1: regional king named Jaya Armand Too. And Jaya Armand consolidated 27 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:35,560 Speaker 1: the chiefdoms in Cambodia and he formed the Kingdom of Anchor, 28 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:40,200 Speaker 1: and he's the one who decides that the Khmer royalty, 29 00:01:40,440 --> 00:01:44,360 Speaker 1: the Cambodian royalty, would be linked to the gods, creating 30 00:01:44,400 --> 00:01:47,760 Speaker 1: the cult of the devil Rajah, which is literally the 31 00:01:47,800 --> 00:01:51,680 Speaker 1: god king or king of the gods. So this proves 32 00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:54,680 Speaker 1: to be a very important part of our story, this 33 00:01:54,920 --> 00:02:00,440 Speaker 1: close relationship between the the king's and the gods, and 34 00:02:00,760 --> 00:02:03,520 Speaker 1: the monuments they would build to both themselves and to 35 00:02:03,600 --> 00:02:06,920 Speaker 1: the gods. Right and Anchor is his capital, the capital 36 00:02:07,080 --> 00:02:10,000 Speaker 1: of the Khmer or Cambodian Empire from the ninth century 37 00:02:10,040 --> 00:02:12,639 Speaker 1: to the fifteenth century a d. Which is known as 38 00:02:12,639 --> 00:02:16,560 Speaker 1: the Classical era of Cambodian history. And we are going 39 00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:19,400 Speaker 1: to have a little bit of river people descendant. So 40 00:02:19,520 --> 00:02:22,639 Speaker 1: we started with the king, but the people were descended 41 00:02:22,680 --> 00:02:26,920 Speaker 1: from the Funan of the Mekong Delta and the Khmer 42 00:02:27,280 --> 00:02:31,639 Speaker 1: Empire is highly influenced by Hinduism and Buddhism and that 43 00:02:31,680 --> 00:02:36,000 Speaker 1: comes from centuries old contact with Indian traders, but they 44 00:02:36,040 --> 00:02:39,200 Speaker 1: still retain some of their traditional religions. They kind of 45 00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:42,720 Speaker 1: blended blended it all together, right. And this is a 46 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:45,359 Speaker 1: huge territory, we should add. It goes from the tip 47 00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:48,480 Speaker 1: of the Indo Chinese Peninsula north to the modern Yunnan 48 00:02:48,600 --> 00:02:52,119 Speaker 1: Province in China and from Vietnam westward towards the Bay 49 00:02:52,120 --> 00:02:55,120 Speaker 1: of Bengal, which all sounds completely insane. But the city 50 00:02:55,160 --> 00:02:57,720 Speaker 1: of Anchor was bigger than Rhode Island, if that gives 51 00:02:57,760 --> 00:03:01,320 Speaker 1: you an idea. Yeah. And for such a huge city, 52 00:03:01,440 --> 00:03:05,760 Speaker 1: they fund huge construction projects. And the biggest one that 53 00:03:05,840 --> 00:03:10,000 Speaker 1: Katie mentioned earlier, Anger Watt, probably the most famous um. 54 00:03:10,040 --> 00:03:13,160 Speaker 1: It's a temple complex that was built in the twelfth century. 55 00:03:13,639 --> 00:03:17,919 Speaker 1: There's also Anchored Tom, another temple complex which was built 56 00:03:18,040 --> 00:03:22,799 Speaker 1: in twelve hundred by King Jaya Armand the seventh. And 57 00:03:22,919 --> 00:03:26,120 Speaker 1: it's after that King Jai of Armand the Seventh when 58 00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:30,919 Speaker 1: Angor starts to go downhill, and by fourteen thirty one 59 00:03:31,160 --> 00:03:35,080 Speaker 1: it's been partially abandoned. By the time the Portuguese come 60 00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:39,200 Speaker 1: on the scene Portuguese missionaries in the sixteenth century, the 61 00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:43,040 Speaker 1: empire is thoroughly on its way out. The kings of 62 00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:45,200 Speaker 1: Anchor do come back for a little bit in the 63 00:03:45,240 --> 00:03:51,200 Speaker 1: sixteenth century, but not for long. So we're wondering what happened. 64 00:03:51,320 --> 00:03:55,960 Speaker 1: But in the meantime, Angor lies. I don't want to 65 00:03:55,960 --> 00:04:01,160 Speaker 1: say forgotten, because Anchor Watt is maintained by um monks 66 00:04:01,200 --> 00:04:05,600 Speaker 1: and hermits, and it's considered an important pilgrimage site in 67 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:09,680 Speaker 1: Southeast Asia all through these sort of down years. But 68 00:04:09,840 --> 00:04:14,480 Speaker 1: I think the um vastness of the city of Anchor 69 00:04:14,760 --> 00:04:19,360 Speaker 1: is forgotten, at least ignored. Some travelers who um quote 70 00:04:19,400 --> 00:04:22,640 Speaker 1: unquote discovered Anchor thought they'd found a lost city founded 71 00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:25,120 Speaker 1: by Alexandra the Great or the Roman Empire. They knew 72 00:04:25,160 --> 00:04:28,600 Speaker 1: nothing about it. But the French colonial regime in Cambodia 73 00:04:29,240 --> 00:04:33,120 Speaker 1: uh found the site, not found it, but they started 74 00:04:33,120 --> 00:04:36,760 Speaker 1: getting interested in it in the eighteen sixties and they 75 00:04:36,839 --> 00:04:40,240 Speaker 1: partially restored the temples and the reservoirs and canals that 76 00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:45,719 Speaker 1: lays through this mammoth complex of anchor and published a 77 00:04:45,800 --> 00:04:50,680 Speaker 1: French explorer Andri Muo actually reintroduces the temples to the 78 00:04:50,720 --> 00:04:55,080 Speaker 1: West with a journal travels in Siam, Cambodia and Laos 79 00:04:55,800 --> 00:04:57,760 Speaker 1: and to bring it up to the present time and 80 00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:00,240 Speaker 1: the twentieth century. Of course, there's a lot of war 81 00:05:00,320 --> 00:05:04,039 Speaker 1: and upheaval in Cambodia, and there's war damage done to 82 00:05:04,040 --> 00:05:07,040 Speaker 1: the site. There's theft, but mostly a lot of neglect 83 00:05:07,160 --> 00:05:09,719 Speaker 1: because it's too dangerous of a place for most people 84 00:05:09,760 --> 00:05:11,960 Speaker 1: to go to. Yeah, and take care of it, right. 85 00:05:12,040 --> 00:05:15,440 Speaker 1: There's engulfing vegetation and erosion, and Sarah made me look 86 00:05:15,440 --> 00:05:18,800 Speaker 1: at pictures of strangler figs, which are completely insane. Just 87 00:05:18,880 --> 00:05:25,120 Speaker 1: imagine um, it's like a vine flash tree just engulfing 88 00:05:25,360 --> 00:05:29,440 Speaker 1: these stone temples. It's ridiculous, So google image that. Yeah, 89 00:05:29,560 --> 00:05:32,640 Speaker 1: and in nineteen two becomes a World Heritage Site, which 90 00:05:32,680 --> 00:05:36,479 Speaker 1: is a great step to preserving any kind of cultural 91 00:05:36,520 --> 00:05:40,440 Speaker 1: monument like this. And by nine it was scammed by 92 00:05:40,440 --> 00:05:43,880 Speaker 1: the radar of space Shuttle Endeavor, which turns out to 93 00:05:43,920 --> 00:05:50,760 Speaker 1: be a very important key to anchors understanding later on 94 00:05:50,839 --> 00:05:53,159 Speaker 1: in the podcast, because there's so much more that we 95 00:05:53,200 --> 00:05:56,320 Speaker 1: didn't know about. But let's go back and figure out 96 00:05:56,320 --> 00:05:59,080 Speaker 1: what Anchor was like and why we should care about it. 97 00:05:59,560 --> 00:06:02,919 Speaker 1: So during the medieval times, the canear erected thousands of 98 00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:07,279 Speaker 1: shrines and Anchor and went on a building spree. And 99 00:06:07,520 --> 00:06:12,000 Speaker 1: the city it's not just built haphazardly. It's very much 100 00:06:12,040 --> 00:06:15,880 Speaker 1: tied to the Hindu idea of the universe. The city 101 00:06:15,880 --> 00:06:20,279 Speaker 1: of Ankor actually was a symbolic universe itself that was 102 00:06:20,360 --> 00:06:24,640 Speaker 1: structured according to the Hindu cosmology. So, for example, the 103 00:06:24,720 --> 00:06:29,479 Speaker 1: outer walls of the temples are meant to recall mountains 104 00:06:29,520 --> 00:06:33,760 Speaker 1: that were believed to edge the world, and the reservoirs 105 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:36,840 Speaker 1: and canals and moats that lace through the cities are 106 00:06:36,839 --> 00:06:39,440 Speaker 1: meant to symbolize the waters of the cosmos. So it's 107 00:06:39,480 --> 00:06:43,120 Speaker 1: a pretty cool idea to to model your city on 108 00:06:43,200 --> 00:06:46,120 Speaker 1: the universe. Yes, city planners take note. I'm pretty sure 109 00:06:46,120 --> 00:06:49,279 Speaker 1: Atlanta wasn't designed that, though I don't think so. The 110 00:06:49,320 --> 00:06:52,920 Speaker 1: temples weren't only religious centers. They were also commercial centers, 111 00:06:52,960 --> 00:06:55,640 Speaker 1: and many of them operated as small cities, while other 112 00:06:55,680 --> 00:06:59,360 Speaker 1: ones as larger cities. There were up to swhere around 113 00:06:59,440 --> 00:07:02,760 Speaker 1: seven in fifty thousand people in Anchor, which was the 114 00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:05,719 Speaker 1: capital of the Khmer Kingdom, and it is the most 115 00:07:05,800 --> 00:07:11,440 Speaker 1: extensive urban complex of the pre industrial world, so small accomplishment. 116 00:07:12,120 --> 00:07:16,280 Speaker 1: We only have one firsthand account, though, of what Angor 117 00:07:16,360 --> 00:07:20,400 Speaker 1: was really like, and that's from Zo Daguan, a Chinese 118 00:07:20,400 --> 00:07:24,080 Speaker 1: diplomat who visited at the end of the thirteenth century, 119 00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:26,600 Speaker 1: and you can find parts of his account on Google 120 00:07:26,600 --> 00:07:29,680 Speaker 1: Books if you searched for it. But he discusses a 121 00:07:29,720 --> 00:07:32,640 Speaker 1: little bit about the city itself and some about city life. 122 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:35,080 Speaker 1: He talks about entering the city and there's a moat 123 00:07:35,160 --> 00:07:38,120 Speaker 1: surrounding it with a border of fifty four giants holding 124 00:07:38,120 --> 00:07:42,440 Speaker 1: a snake. There's a golden bridge, gilded lions, a pavilion 125 00:07:42,520 --> 00:07:46,280 Speaker 1: supported by stone elephants, um a bronze Buddha in a 126 00:07:46,400 --> 00:07:49,240 Speaker 1: lake with water coming out of its belly button. We've 127 00:07:49,280 --> 00:07:54,520 Speaker 1: also got stories about fireworks and bore fighting, royal processions 128 00:07:54,560 --> 00:07:58,680 Speaker 1: with elephants, horses clad in gold, palace women and flowers. 129 00:07:59,120 --> 00:08:02,520 Speaker 1: It all sounds very a luxurious We shouldn't only look 130 00:08:02,520 --> 00:08:04,880 Speaker 1: at that side of the account, though. The life for 131 00:08:05,240 --> 00:08:09,680 Speaker 1: your average peasant in Anger probably wasn't really great. You 132 00:08:09,720 --> 00:08:13,320 Speaker 1: would likely work really hard on the temple because constant 133 00:08:13,400 --> 00:08:19,240 Speaker 1: building freeze require constant work from peasants. Uh, you grow 134 00:08:19,280 --> 00:08:23,040 Speaker 1: a lot of rice to pay tributes because the whole 135 00:08:23,200 --> 00:08:28,360 Speaker 1: system relied on rice's currency. And you'd also probably be 136 00:08:28,440 --> 00:08:32,120 Speaker 1: drafted into war because there were constant wars with the 137 00:08:32,240 --> 00:08:36,719 Speaker 1: armies in Thailand and Champa, which is Vietnam today. But 138 00:08:36,840 --> 00:08:39,440 Speaker 1: he also does talk a little bit about middle class life. 139 00:08:39,480 --> 00:08:42,200 Speaker 1: So that would be me and you, Sarah. And the 140 00:08:42,280 --> 00:08:45,320 Speaker 1: house he's staying at has matting but no tables, chairs, 141 00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:48,679 Speaker 1: or beds. They cook rice over a clay stove and 142 00:08:48,720 --> 00:08:51,679 Speaker 1: they sit on mats and eat from ceramic plates and 143 00:08:51,880 --> 00:08:54,680 Speaker 1: drink wine from tin cups that's made out of honey, 144 00:08:54,800 --> 00:08:58,199 Speaker 1: rice leaves, and water. They sleep on mats on the floor, 145 00:08:58,240 --> 00:09:00,679 Speaker 1: and apparently it's so hot people got during the night 146 00:09:00,760 --> 00:09:03,800 Speaker 1: to bathe, and a few families all share a ditch 147 00:09:03,840 --> 00:09:05,800 Speaker 1: as a latrine, and when it's full, they would dig 148 00:09:05,840 --> 00:09:08,800 Speaker 1: another one or have a slave to it. Apparently wealthy 149 00:09:08,800 --> 00:09:11,280 Speaker 1: families had more than a hundred slaves each, which they 150 00:09:11,320 --> 00:09:13,680 Speaker 1: got from the uplands, and they spoke came here, but 151 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:17,200 Speaker 1: they had no rights. And the other thing I thought 152 00:09:17,320 --> 00:09:20,640 Speaker 1: was really interesting was what happened when two families fought. 153 00:09:20,720 --> 00:09:23,520 Speaker 1: They would take a member from each family and stick 154 00:09:23,559 --> 00:09:25,880 Speaker 1: them each in a tower, and then after a certain 155 00:09:25,920 --> 00:09:27,480 Speaker 1: period of time, you would get to come out of 156 00:09:27,480 --> 00:09:30,520 Speaker 1: confinement and they would look to see what sort of 157 00:09:30,840 --> 00:09:33,559 Speaker 1: ailments you'd had. You know, perhaps you'd had a fever 158 00:09:33,960 --> 00:09:36,280 Speaker 1: or some other sickness, and that's how they determined who 159 00:09:36,360 --> 00:09:40,400 Speaker 1: was guilty. It's so weirdly passive. I keep thinking of 160 00:09:40,440 --> 00:09:42,480 Speaker 1: Funny Python and the Holy Grail because I tried to 161 00:09:42,520 --> 00:09:44,600 Speaker 1: apply that to most things. But you know, I figure 162 00:09:44,600 --> 00:09:47,080 Speaker 1: out whether she's a which, figure out who's guilty, and 163 00:09:47,120 --> 00:09:50,640 Speaker 1: the king's punishments could range from a fine to crushing 164 00:09:50,640 --> 00:09:53,240 Speaker 1: your limbs. So I hope you weren't the one who 165 00:09:53,320 --> 00:09:58,000 Speaker 1: got the fever. And they also collected human goal from 166 00:09:58,080 --> 00:10:01,160 Speaker 1: I've read that too. That was weird with the thought 167 00:10:01,160 --> 00:10:05,000 Speaker 1: to give both men and elephants courage. And if you 168 00:10:05,040 --> 00:10:06,959 Speaker 1: were a person who needed courage, you could drink it 169 00:10:07,040 --> 00:10:08,840 Speaker 1: mixed with wine. If you were an elephant, you would 170 00:10:08,880 --> 00:10:11,200 Speaker 1: have it poured over you in a different mixture. But 171 00:10:11,240 --> 00:10:14,440 Speaker 1: they had a commoner way would be the best way 172 00:10:14,440 --> 00:10:16,720 Speaker 1: to go. There was someone who was supposed to drink, 173 00:10:17,960 --> 00:10:21,360 Speaker 1: so you know, human goal courage for elephants. Things you learned, 174 00:10:21,600 --> 00:10:25,640 Speaker 1: but Unfortunately, this amazing account we have from Zoo is 175 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:29,560 Speaker 1: that's it. We have things that were carved on the 176 00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:33,280 Speaker 1: stone temples, but all of the administrative buildings and the 177 00:10:33,360 --> 00:10:37,600 Speaker 1: homes from the highest person to the lowest were made 178 00:10:37,640 --> 00:10:40,800 Speaker 1: of wood, and consequently you haven't survived. So we have 179 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:43,760 Speaker 1: very little to go on when we're trying to figure 180 00:10:43,800 --> 00:10:49,080 Speaker 1: out how ankor fell. What happened, and the historically suspected 181 00:10:49,160 --> 00:10:55,400 Speaker 1: causes are invaders, religion changes, maritime trade kind of shuts 182 00:10:55,440 --> 00:10:59,600 Speaker 1: down the coastal city, and um, so we have to 183 00:10:59,760 --> 00:11:01,960 Speaker 1: get us, which is one of those use your own 184 00:11:02,240 --> 00:11:06,200 Speaker 1: ending podcast. We're going to give you some options and 185 00:11:06,240 --> 00:11:08,240 Speaker 1: you can pick what you think makes the most sense. 186 00:11:08,360 --> 00:11:12,600 Speaker 1: So one option is rivalry. The Canary kings each had 187 00:11:12,600 --> 00:11:15,920 Speaker 1: a few wives and several children, and so there were 188 00:11:15,960 --> 00:11:19,080 Speaker 1: constant battles over which baby would be the king, and 189 00:11:19,640 --> 00:11:22,320 Speaker 1: plenty of usurpers to the throne. As Sarah said, it 190 00:11:22,360 --> 00:11:26,040 Speaker 1: was like the War of the Roses times Azilian. Imagine 191 00:11:26,720 --> 00:11:28,959 Speaker 1: just never knowing who was going to be the next king. 192 00:11:29,040 --> 00:11:32,080 Speaker 1: That puts a lot of no clear line of succession. Yeah, 193 00:11:32,320 --> 00:11:36,800 Speaker 1: and then another potential problem was war. Some think that 194 00:11:36,840 --> 00:11:41,880 Speaker 1: the warriors from the Iataiah state sacked Anchor in and 195 00:11:42,760 --> 00:11:45,600 Speaker 1: they did invade the city and made off with a 196 00:11:45,600 --> 00:11:49,120 Speaker 1: lot of treasure in women, but they probably didn't completely 197 00:11:49,200 --> 00:11:52,720 Speaker 1: destroy the city. Well, obviously they didn't completely destroy We 198 00:11:52,720 --> 00:11:57,120 Speaker 1: have some less um, they didn't damage it severely, And 199 00:11:57,960 --> 00:12:01,319 Speaker 1: some historians think that's unlikely because as the ruler of 200 00:12:01,360 --> 00:12:04,600 Speaker 1: the Aetayah installs his son on the throne, So why 201 00:12:04,679 --> 00:12:08,800 Speaker 1: would you completely sack the city and destroy most of 202 00:12:08,840 --> 00:12:11,600 Speaker 1: it if you're installing your son on the throne. And 203 00:12:11,640 --> 00:12:16,000 Speaker 1: that brings us to option three, which is religion. Anthropologists 204 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:19,160 Speaker 1: call Anchor the regal ritual city. They love religion, it's 205 00:12:19,160 --> 00:12:21,640 Speaker 1: a big part of their daily lives, and the kings 206 00:12:21,679 --> 00:12:24,720 Speaker 1: are the world emperors of Hindu lore. But by the 207 00:12:24,760 --> 00:12:29,840 Speaker 1: thirteenth and fourteen centuries, Terravada Buddhism starts to surpass Hinduism, 208 00:12:29,880 --> 00:12:33,520 Speaker 1: and it preaches social quality, which isn't something that was 209 00:12:33,520 --> 00:12:37,040 Speaker 1: a big part of life in Anchor. So perhaps slaving 210 00:12:37,040 --> 00:12:39,080 Speaker 1: away at growing rice just to give it to the 211 00:12:39,160 --> 00:12:43,080 Speaker 1: king for his um gilded elephant processions doesn't sounds so 212 00:12:43,120 --> 00:12:46,560 Speaker 1: appealing anymore. No, it really didn't, because that whole regal 213 00:12:46,640 --> 00:12:50,360 Speaker 1: ritual thing relied on tribute and taxes, so you were 214 00:12:50,400 --> 00:12:54,680 Speaker 1: paying for these insanely luxurious ceremony and as we already said, 215 00:12:54,679 --> 00:12:58,920 Speaker 1: the currency is rice, so you're growing huge amounts of 216 00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:03,840 Speaker 1: rice to feed priests and the dancers and the concubine, yeah, 217 00:13:03,880 --> 00:13:07,640 Speaker 1: the temple workers. And it just, uh, this is a 218 00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:12,679 Speaker 1: plausible explanation for why this society would collapse bolts. But 219 00:13:12,800 --> 00:13:16,840 Speaker 1: we have another option. That's that it was just plain abandoned, 220 00:13:16,880 --> 00:13:21,000 Speaker 1: that the royal court ditched the city. And this is 221 00:13:21,080 --> 00:13:25,040 Speaker 1: plausible because the rulers were obsessed with building their own 222 00:13:25,160 --> 00:13:27,600 Speaker 1: new temples, they wouldn't take care of the old ones. 223 00:13:27,840 --> 00:13:32,800 Speaker 1: Most of our kind of cultural monuments, at least public monuments, 224 00:13:32,800 --> 00:13:36,440 Speaker 1: there is a certain amount of upkeep and um, and 225 00:13:36,720 --> 00:13:40,600 Speaker 1: you know people people like things that are old. But 226 00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:44,560 Speaker 1: that was not the case with the Anchor rulers. You 227 00:13:44,600 --> 00:13:46,720 Speaker 1: knew they would just let the old ones fall into 228 00:13:46,800 --> 00:13:49,920 Speaker 1: into decay. Kind of reminded me a little bit about 229 00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:52,600 Speaker 1: the It kind of reminded me a little bit of 230 00:13:52,640 --> 00:13:57,400 Speaker 1: the Egyptian pharaoh's pilfering the rocks from the old pyramids 231 00:13:57,440 --> 00:14:02,360 Speaker 1: and stuff. But so it's possible that the rulers just 232 00:14:02,960 --> 00:14:06,440 Speaker 1: left the town headed to a location closer to the 233 00:14:06,440 --> 00:14:11,880 Speaker 1: Mekong River, which is near Cambodia's modern capital of PanAm Pen, 234 00:14:12,520 --> 00:14:17,800 Speaker 1: and that way they could have easier sea trading and um, 235 00:14:17,840 --> 00:14:20,800 Speaker 1: just move on with the times. But there is an 236 00:14:20,840 --> 00:14:25,760 Speaker 1: even more modern theory, which is water trouble. The empire's 237 00:14:25,800 --> 00:14:29,520 Speaker 1: growth depended on huge rice harvests, and to do that, 238 00:14:29,640 --> 00:14:32,760 Speaker 1: of course, you need a steady water supply. And we 239 00:14:32,840 --> 00:14:37,360 Speaker 1: mentioned earlier how good it engineering this particular empire was, 240 00:14:37,920 --> 00:14:43,240 Speaker 1: but it wasn't just engineering amazing tempo complexes and things 241 00:14:43,360 --> 00:14:46,800 Speaker 1: to worship their rulers and gods. We were talking about 242 00:14:46,880 --> 00:14:50,320 Speaker 1: all the canals and the reservoirs, and that does more 243 00:14:50,400 --> 00:14:56,600 Speaker 1: than symbolize the Hindu cosmology of oceans and water. They 244 00:14:56,920 --> 00:15:02,240 Speaker 1: also were legitimate reservoirs and the uh. There's a great 245 00:15:02,320 --> 00:15:05,320 Speaker 1: article in the National Geographic from a few months back 246 00:15:05,720 --> 00:15:10,320 Speaker 1: by Richard Stone which puts forth the idea that the 247 00:15:10,360 --> 00:15:15,000 Speaker 1: civilization rose because they figured out a way to manage 248 00:15:15,040 --> 00:15:18,600 Speaker 1: the monsoon season, which you know, it's kind of an 249 00:15:18,600 --> 00:15:21,080 Speaker 1: on or off rain switch, right, And once you're not 250 00:15:21,160 --> 00:15:24,200 Speaker 1: dependent on the weather like that, you have time to 251 00:15:24,240 --> 00:15:26,920 Speaker 1: do things like build great civilizations. Yeah, because you can 252 00:15:26,960 --> 00:15:30,200 Speaker 1: increase your rice yields. You can grow during times of 253 00:15:30,240 --> 00:15:32,280 Speaker 1: year where you normally wouldn't be able to grow rice. 254 00:15:32,720 --> 00:15:35,840 Speaker 1: And so this theory suggests that they rose to prominence 255 00:15:35,880 --> 00:15:40,040 Speaker 1: because they figured out how to manipulate this, and that 256 00:15:40,160 --> 00:15:44,880 Speaker 1: maybe they fell because they lost that control. They built 257 00:15:44,920 --> 00:15:47,480 Speaker 1: one reservoir you talked about. I think that's what five 258 00:15:47,560 --> 00:15:51,080 Speaker 1: miles long by one and a half miles wide the Westbury. Yeah, 259 00:15:51,120 --> 00:15:55,040 Speaker 1: these aren't huge. If you see a picture of it, 260 00:15:55,240 --> 00:15:59,160 Speaker 1: it I mean, I can't even compare it to a 261 00:15:59,360 --> 00:16:02,120 Speaker 1: pool or something like that. It looks like a lake, 262 00:16:02,200 --> 00:16:06,840 Speaker 1: except that it's perfectly rectangular. And here's how it worked. 263 00:16:07,120 --> 00:16:10,480 Speaker 1: During the summer monsoon months, the overflow channels took care 264 00:16:10,520 --> 00:16:13,120 Speaker 1: of the excess water to save it for later. The 265 00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:16,840 Speaker 1: rain stopped in October November, and the irrigation channels dispensed 266 00:16:16,840 --> 00:16:20,040 Speaker 1: the stored water. So, yeah, you can grow rice when 267 00:16:20,160 --> 00:16:23,680 Speaker 1: you shouldn't be able to, and you're not going to 268 00:16:23,760 --> 00:16:26,600 Speaker 1: be quite as flooded as you normally would be during 269 00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:29,800 Speaker 1: the monsoon season. And one of the ways that we 270 00:16:29,960 --> 00:16:34,480 Speaker 1: figured out how these reservoirs worked, where those NOWSA images 271 00:16:34,520 --> 00:16:38,320 Speaker 1: we were talking about or endeavor, and they were great 272 00:16:38,320 --> 00:16:42,360 Speaker 1: because they showed areas that were still inaccessible because of 273 00:16:42,440 --> 00:16:46,880 Speaker 1: violence and Cambodia or just lawlessness in certain areas. And 274 00:16:47,440 --> 00:16:51,080 Speaker 1: the images showed that the berets or these big reservoirs 275 00:16:51,120 --> 00:16:54,880 Speaker 1: had inlets and outlets, so that proved that they were 276 00:16:55,040 --> 00:16:59,440 Speaker 1: for irrigation, they weren't just for religious purposes. But by 277 00:16:59,480 --> 00:17:03,920 Speaker 1: the early thirteenth century, the waterworks began to deteriorate, and 278 00:17:04,240 --> 00:17:06,879 Speaker 1: we're not quite sure why that happened. It might have 279 00:17:06,920 --> 00:17:10,080 Speaker 1: been that floods broke some of the masonry, or it 280 00:17:10,240 --> 00:17:14,119 Speaker 1: just became two massive a system for the engineers to handle. 281 00:17:14,320 --> 00:17:17,160 Speaker 1: You can kind of think of Atlanta's own sewer system, 282 00:17:17,720 --> 00:17:22,119 Speaker 1: which a massive overhaul. Yeah, there's there's not much you 283 00:17:22,160 --> 00:17:26,240 Speaker 1: can do about it unless you embark on a massive overhaul, 284 00:17:26,280 --> 00:17:28,760 Speaker 1: and they might have not been equipped to do that, 285 00:17:28,960 --> 00:17:34,520 Speaker 1: as we're not either. But um, the thirteenth century surprised 286 00:17:34,520 --> 00:17:37,159 Speaker 1: people because it was a little early for the trouble 287 00:17:37,240 --> 00:17:39,560 Speaker 1: to start. If you're paying attention to the timeline anchor 288 00:17:39,680 --> 00:17:42,960 Speaker 1: was still around in the sixteenth century. Yeah, but here's 289 00:17:42,960 --> 00:17:47,200 Speaker 1: what suspected to have happened. So while the waterworks are 290 00:17:47,800 --> 00:17:53,679 Speaker 1: in disrepair. That's a problem, but maybe manageable if you 291 00:17:53,720 --> 00:17:58,639 Speaker 1: still have a regular monsoon season. But unfortunately their disrepair 292 00:17:58,720 --> 00:18:03,960 Speaker 1: coincides perfectly with the beginning of the Little Ice Age, 293 00:18:04,200 --> 00:18:07,040 Speaker 1: and that's something that people have long known happened in 294 00:18:07,080 --> 00:18:11,000 Speaker 1: Europe starting in and going on for a couple of centuries. 295 00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:18,919 Speaker 1: It contributed to really abnormally cold winters and unseasonably cold summers, 296 00:18:19,119 --> 00:18:23,359 Speaker 1: and but until recently people didn't know if this also 297 00:18:23,440 --> 00:18:27,200 Speaker 1: extended to Asia, and it definitely did, and it made 298 00:18:27,240 --> 00:18:30,920 Speaker 1: Anchor experience these mega droughts. Sometimes there was no monsoon 299 00:18:31,000 --> 00:18:34,480 Speaker 1: at all, sometimes there was huge monsoon. Basically nothing you 300 00:18:34,480 --> 00:18:37,120 Speaker 1: can plan against, and if you're already falling apart, you're 301 00:18:37,119 --> 00:18:38,719 Speaker 1: not equipped to handle it. So if you have an 302 00:18:38,800 --> 00:18:44,440 Speaker 1: unstable monsoon season and um water works that are failing, 303 00:18:44,760 --> 00:18:48,800 Speaker 1: you can't guarantee a harvest. And we know that the 304 00:18:48,880 --> 00:18:52,480 Speaker 1: Little Ice Age did hit Asia in part because of Poemu. 305 00:18:53,000 --> 00:18:56,119 Speaker 1: I think that's how you say it. Cypress tree rings. Um. 306 00:18:56,200 --> 00:18:59,680 Speaker 1: Some of these trees are nine centuries old, so they 307 00:18:59,720 --> 00:19:03,320 Speaker 1: were around in the height of anger and in its fall, 308 00:19:03,800 --> 00:19:09,120 Speaker 1: and they show stress, like major stress from the monsoons. 309 00:19:09,160 --> 00:19:12,520 Speaker 1: Heavy monsoons, no monsoons, and of course with all of 310 00:19:12,560 --> 00:19:15,639 Speaker 1: this water trouble, we end up with a low rice yield, 311 00:19:15,760 --> 00:19:19,800 Speaker 1: which could lead to starving turmoil, a week army and 312 00:19:19,880 --> 00:19:22,879 Speaker 1: so on. And so that's why they choose your own ending. 313 00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:25,200 Speaker 1: Any of them could really be right because we can 314 00:19:25,240 --> 00:19:30,440 Speaker 1: have this water centered answer. But if your people are 315 00:19:30,560 --> 00:19:34,520 Speaker 1: starving because there's no water to grow rice, or you know, 316 00:19:34,600 --> 00:19:38,360 Speaker 1: you're flooded out and you can't grow rice, um your 317 00:19:38,480 --> 00:19:43,560 Speaker 1: army is underfed, you're more susceptible to the Iataia invaders. 318 00:19:43,560 --> 00:19:47,280 Speaker 1: And it kind of ties all the all the endings 319 00:19:47,320 --> 00:19:51,280 Speaker 1: together in an interesting way. And there's another environmental theory 320 00:19:51,320 --> 00:19:54,879 Speaker 1: about environmental degradation causing the fall of Anchor, which was 321 00:19:54,960 --> 00:19:58,480 Speaker 1: about deforestation and over using the land, which some people 322 00:19:58,480 --> 00:20:02,000 Speaker 1: think led to flood and silted canals, which are really 323 00:20:02,040 --> 00:20:04,760 Speaker 1: no good. Yeah, if you silt silt up your water works, 324 00:20:04,760 --> 00:20:08,080 Speaker 1: they're not going to really do you any good anymore. Well, 325 00:20:08,080 --> 00:20:12,120 Speaker 1: all of these possibilities are interesting to ponder. Hopefully we'll 326 00:20:12,119 --> 00:20:14,439 Speaker 1: have a chance to figure out the real answer. Now 327 00:20:14,480 --> 00:20:18,239 Speaker 1: that Cambodia is open for tourism. Yeah, it's actually a 328 00:20:18,240 --> 00:20:22,000 Speaker 1: big source of money for Cambodia. Now, which you know 329 00:20:22,119 --> 00:20:24,760 Speaker 1: couldn't really have much of a tourist trade for decades 330 00:20:24,800 --> 00:20:29,080 Speaker 1: because of war and internal strife. But um unfortunately the 331 00:20:29,119 --> 00:20:33,320 Speaker 1: tourism also threatens the structural integrity of the temples. There's 332 00:20:33,320 --> 00:20:36,400 Speaker 1: always a double down. But the same thing about POMPEII. 333 00:20:36,440 --> 00:20:38,480 Speaker 1: We're reading about people coming to see POMPEII and then 334 00:20:38,480 --> 00:20:41,640 Speaker 1: touching every Yeah, they're winning it. Erosion problems from just 335 00:20:41,880 --> 00:20:46,840 Speaker 1: physical contact, but also new resorts and hotels springing up 336 00:20:46,960 --> 00:20:52,520 Speaker 1: are supposedly sucking the groundwater dry beneath Ancor, which weakened 337 00:20:52,560 --> 00:20:55,440 Speaker 1: some of the foundations of the buildings. And if you're 338 00:20:55,480 --> 00:20:58,920 Speaker 1: looking to go loot some antiquities, there actually aren't many 339 00:20:59,040 --> 00:21:01,919 Speaker 1: left after sent reads of people doing so. Some are 340 00:21:01,920 --> 00:21:05,360 Speaker 1: in France and some are in Cambodia's National Museum very 341 00:21:05,400 --> 00:21:08,240 Speaker 1: far away. Well, I for one, would definitely like to 342 00:21:08,320 --> 00:21:12,399 Speaker 1: visit Anchor and Anchor Watt and the whole Shabang. So 343 00:21:12,480 --> 00:21:13,920 Speaker 1: would I, and I think it would be a lot 344 00:21:13,960 --> 00:21:16,640 Speaker 1: easier to visit than Atlantis, considering we don't know where 345 00:21:16,640 --> 00:21:19,760 Speaker 1: it is, or the north to Chico, considering that they're gone. Well, 346 00:21:19,760 --> 00:21:22,000 Speaker 1: I think that about wraps it up, unless we think 347 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:25,000 Speaker 1: of any more lost cities to talk of in the future, 348 00:21:25,400 --> 00:21:27,479 Speaker 1: So if you'd like to read more, check out our 349 00:21:27,560 --> 00:21:31,080 Speaker 1: article five abandoned Cities, and don't forget to check out 350 00:21:31,119 --> 00:21:33,399 Speaker 1: our blog, which you can find on the homepage at 351 00:21:33,560 --> 00:21:37,800 Speaker 1: www dot how stuff works dot com. For more on 352 00:21:37,880 --> 00:21:40,600 Speaker 1: this and thousands of other topics, visit how stuff works 353 00:21:40,600 --> 00:21:43,800 Speaker 1: dot com. Let us know what you think, send an 354 00:21:43,800 --> 00:21:46,960 Speaker 1: email to podcast at how stuff works dot com, and 355 00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:48,639 Speaker 1: be sure to check out the stuff you missed in 356 00:21:48,720 --> 00:21:51,200 Speaker 1: History Glass blog on the how stuff works dot com 357 00:21:51,200 --> 00:21:59,800 Speaker 1: home page.