Laser Surveys in Cambodia Reveal Unparalleled Pre-Industrial Working of the Landscape

In the jungles of Cambodia, archaeologists are using aerial laser surveys to uncover mysterious features, including man-made mounds and geoglyphs arranged in geometric shapes that indicate widespread shaping of the landscape—perhaps greater than at any other pre-industrial region on Earth.

The chief archaeologist of the Cambodian Archaeological LIDAR Initiative, Damian Evans, published an article this month in the Journal of Archaeological Science detailing his work in imaging the heavily worked landscape of the centuries-old Khmer and Angkor civilizations. Dr. Evans is with the École française d’Extrême-Orient.

Map of the sites with an inset of the Southeast Asian region (Credits: Damian Evans / Cambodian Archaeological Lidar Initiative)

“Since the 1990s,” he wrote, “evidence has gradually emerged that vast, previously undocumented urban landscapes may lie beneath the forests that surround the well-known temple sites of Southeast Asia. Using the unique ability of new laser imaging technologies to ‘see through’ vegetation and uncover remnant traces of past societies, CALI completed a new ALS campaign in March–April 2015 that has dramatically expanded coverage beyond the test areas covered in the 2012 campaign.”