destionation of Cambodia
History & Culture
Cambodia tours are not only about Angkor Wat, but also about the long and mysterious history of the country and colorful and charming culture its people are living lively.
History
Carbon 14 dating of a cave at Laang Spean in northwest Cambodia reveals people who made pots were living in Cambodia as early as 4200 B.C.E. (Before the Common Era).Further archaeological evidence indicates that other parts of the region now called Cambodia were inhabited from around 1000-2000 B.C.E. by a Neolithic culture. Skulls and human bones found at Samrong Sen date from 1500 B.C.E.These people may have migrated from South Eastern China to the Indochinese Peninsula, although some scholars maintain they may have come from India.Scholars trace the first cultivation of rice and the first bronze making in Southeast Asia to these people.By the first century CE, the inhabitants had developed relatively stable, organized societies and spoke languages very much related to the Cambodian or Khmer of the present day.The culture and technical skills of these people of the first century in the Common Era far surpassed the primitive stage. The most advanced groups lived along the coast and in the lower Mekong River valley and delta regions in houses constructed on stilts where they cultivated rice, fished and kept domesticated animals. Recent research has unlocked the discovery of artificial circular earthworks dating to Cambodia's Neolithic era.The Khmer people were one of the first inhabitants of South East Asia. They were also among the first in South East Asia to adopt religious ideas and political institutions from India and to establish centralized kingdoms surrounding large territories. The earliest known kingdom in the area, Funan, flourished from around the first to the sixth century AD. This was succeeded by Chenla, which controlled large parts of modern Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand.
Culture
The culture of Cambodia has had a rich and varied history dating back many centuries, and has been heavily influenced by India and China.Throughout Cambodia's long history, a major source of inspiration was from religion. Throughout nearly two millennium, Cambodians developed a unique Khmer belief from the syncreticism of indigenous animistic beliefs and the Indian religions of Buddhism and Hinduism. Indian culture and civilization, including its language and arts reached mainland Southeast Asia around the 1st century A.D. It is generally believed that seafaring merchants brought Indian customs and culture to ports along the Gulf of Thailand and the Pacific while trading with China. The first state to benefit from this was Funan.
Any Indochina tours fans can find and mark their own favorite spots and precious memories in this country rich in history and culture. Wanna know all the untold stories behind the rocks of Angkor Wat? Just get your Cambodia holiday started!
Not sure where to go or What to experience in Cambodia?
Fill out the form below to tell us your interests, your schedule and people in your group to Cambodia and/or countries around. Your private travel consultant in Indochina Odyssey Tours will contact you within 0.5 - 23.5 hours to give you a proposal including a tentative itinerary tailor-made for you and the most competitive price IOT can offer. Not all information is necessary in this form, but the more you tell us, the better we can serve you.
