Definition: Funan is the name for a southeast Asian civilization which was given to it by two Chinese travelers, who in AD 250 visited a country ruled by a king in a palace with a walled settlement. The exact location of the Funan culture has not been established, but it is believed that the Mekong delta of southeast Asia below Phnom Penh is the likeliest possibility. Out of this area developed the Angkor Civilization.
The Funan culture was discovered by Indian travelers in the 1st century AD, and the kingdom included a walled settlement, a taxation system, a wealth of imported elite goods, and a script based on Hindi.
The most important archaeological site of the Funan culture is Oc Eo, which includes an enormous network of canals and was identified in the 1920s by aerial photographer Pierre Paris. Louis Malleret excavated at Oc Eo in 1944, and found a central place with public buildings, and evidence for trade with China, India, Iran, and the Roman Empire. Another Funan city of political importance was Vyadhapura ("City of the Hunters" in Sanskrit) near what is now Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
The Funan culture was discovered by Indian travelers in the 1st century AD, and the kingdom included a walled settlement, a taxation system, a wealth of imported elite goods, and a script based on Hindi.
The most important archaeological site of the Funan culture is Oc Eo, which includes an enormous network of canals and was identified in the 1920s by aerial photographer Pierre Paris. Louis Malleret excavated at Oc Eo in 1944, and found a central place with public buildings, and evidence for trade with China, India, Iran, and the Roman Empire. Another Funan city of political importance was Vyadhapura ("City of the Hunters" in Sanskrit) near what is now Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Sources
Higham, Charles. The Development of Mandalas (especially pp 249-253). In The Archaeology of Mainland Southeast Asia. Cambridge World Archaeology, Cambridge England.
Sanderson, David C. W. et al. 2007. Luminescence dating of canal sediments from Angkor Borei, Mekong Delta, Southern Cambodia. Quaternary Geochronology 2:322-329.
This glossary entry is part of the Dictionary of Archaeology. Any mistakes are the responsibility of Kris Hirst.
