Samrong Sen

Samrong Sen
Samrong Sen is located in Cambodia
Samrong Sen
Shown within Cambodia
Alternative nameSomron-Seng, Somrong Seng, Somrong Sen, Som-Ron-Sen
LocationKampong Chhnang Province, Cambodia
Coordinates12°13′0″N 104°47′0″E / 12.21667°N 104.78333°E / 12.21667; 104.78333

Samrong Sen (alternates: Somron-Seng, Somrong Seng, Somrong Sen, Som-Ron-Sen;[1] Khmer: សំរោងសែន) on the east bank of the Stueng Chinit River[2] is a prehistoric archaeological site in the Kampong Chhnang Province, Cambodia. Consisting of a very large fluviatile shell midden,[3] it flourished in particular from 1500 BC[4] to 500 BC.[5]

Excavations at Samrong Sen, which started in the 1880s, have been described as the earliest prehistoric archaeological studies which gave credence to the concept of Southeast Asian Bronze Age.[6] Excavations conducted to depths of 6 metres (20 ft) stratifications have revealed that Samrong Sen provides a link to the professional skills and burial practices of the Bronze Age communities who lived in the Banchiang area on the banks of the Chinit River.[7] As Samrong Sen was almost the only known prehistoric settlement in Cambodia for many years, it was visited by many archaeologists and its artefacts were studied by scientists in several countries. It has been characterized as a highly developed Stone Age culture in Indo-China.[8]

  1. ^ Sophady (2007), p. 7
  2. ^ Sophady Heng. "A study of polished stone tools from Samrong Sen, Cambodia: the French Museum collections" (PDF). Museologia Scientifica e Naturalistica. Annali dell’Università degli Studi di Ferrara Museologia Scientifica e Naturalistica. ISSN 1824-2707. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
  3. ^ Richards, Horace (December 2007). Annotated Bibliography of Quaternary Shorelines: Supplement 1965–1969: Special Pub. 10 of the Acad. of Natural Sciences of Phila. Academy of Natural Sciences. pp. 203–. ISBN 978-1-4223-1779-2. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
  4. ^ Chandler, David P. (2008). History of Cambodia. Westview Press. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-8133-4363-1. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
  5. ^ Bowman, John Stewart (2000). Columbia chronologies of Asian history and culture. Columbia University Press. p. 416. ISBN 978-0-231-11004-4. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
  6. ^ Miksic (2003), p. 208
  7. ^ Charles Higham (1991). The archaeology of Mainland Southeast Asia: from 10,000 B.C. to the fall of Angkor. Cambridge University Press. pp. 172–173. ISBN 978-0-521-27525-5. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
  8. ^ Worman, Jr., Eugene C. (Winter 1949). "Somrong Sen and the Reconstruction of Prehistory in Indo-China". Southwestern Journal of Anthropology. 5 (4). University of New Mexico: 318–329. doi:10.1086/soutjanth.5.4.3628592. JSTOR 3628592. S2CID 163785166.