Angkor's Firewood Crisis: Deforestation and Collapse

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore a little-known factor in the fall of the Khmer Empire: the empire's insatiable demand for firewood. As Angkor's population swelled to nearly a million people under Jayavarman VII, the daily need for cooking fuel and industrial charcoal stripped the surrounding forests bare. New dendrochronological studies from the Greater Angkor Project reveal that by the 14th century, timber for construction had to be hauled from increasingly distant forests, while firewood for cremations alone consumed thousands of trees each year. Lucas explains how deforestation may have triggered a cascade of ecological crises—soil erosion, siltation of the intricate baray reservoir system, and a feedback loop that made the city more vulnerable to drought and disease. The episode also touches on the role of iron smelting at Phnom Kulen and the shift to Theravada Buddhism as a cultural response to scarcity. A fresh angle on a classic collapse narrative. #KhmerEmpire #Angkor #Deforestation #Firewood #GreaterAngkorProject #Dendrochronology #JayavarmanVII #TheravadaBuddhism #PhnomKulen #Baray #SoilErosion #Siltation #IronSmelting #Charcoal #Collapse #EcologicalHistory #SoutheastAsia #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo