QRC members lead and participate in a wide range of disciplinary and interdisciplinary research projects from the study of past earth climates and glaciations to shifts in the geographic distributions and evolution of vegetation and faunal communities, to the evolution and dispersals of the genus Homo and the increasing scales of human modification of earth environments through the Holocene. QRC provides a venue for meeting and collaborating with scholars across Quaternary disciplines. We are also fortunate to be able to provide seed funding and small grants for member research projects. We are especially happy to support grad student and junior scholar research activities, much of which leads to larger, external funding from agencies like the National Science Foundation.
A pilot geochemical analysis of sediment samples from Prasat Basaet, Battambang province, Cambodia
Abstract: The goal of this project is to use geochemical analysis of sediments to explore the relationship between human occupation, environmental change, and Angkorian empire expansion at the site of Prasat Basaet in northwest Cambodia. The Khmer empire, located mostly in Cambodia, was the largest premodern polity in mainland Southeast Asia, dominant from the 9th to the 15th century. With the expansion of the Khmer empire, the construction of temples altered the landscape and brought changes to local settlements. Studying the archaeological evidence inside temple enclosures can help to understand the process and the impacts of Angkorian expansion and urbanization. We ask: Can we identify changes in land use after the Angkorian empire expansion, and what were those changes in relation to human occupation.
In this pilot study, we focus on Prasat Basaet, a provincial temple complex located southwest of Angkor capital dated from the 6th to the 17th century. A major event indicating the Angkorian expansion at Prasat Basaet was the construction of a temple. We will analyze sediment samples collected from the site using standard geochemical methods, such as GC-MS and GC-C-IRMS, to identify changes in relation to human activities relating to the construction of the temple. We expect to find evidence of changes in land use and residential patterns after the empire expansion. Our geochemical analysis of sediments will give us insight into the interaction between humans and the environment that we can correlate with historical records and other archaeological records to make inferences about the impacts of expansion of imperial power on local places.