O'Reilly examines early Cambodia

A new publication called Early Civilizations of Southeast Asia will be released in November and will contain an analysis of the prehistoric societies and events that shaped the Southeast Asia region in ancient times. Its written by HeritageWatch Director Dougald O'Reilly and is to be published by AltaMira Press. The book examines the proto-historical cultures of Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia and Vietnam. O'Reilly's interest in this subject began while he was earning his doctorate from New Zealand's University of Otago, where he focused his dissertation on the Bronze and Iron Ages in Thailand. As a UNESCO lecturer at the Royal University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh - and later as Director of Heritage Watch - he has continued this study by excavating major Iron Age sites in Cambodia such as Phum Snay and Wat Jas. Over the next three years, O'Reilly (pictured) will further investigate this era in Cambodian history with the University of Sydney. Regrettably, such research grows more difficult by the day as Bronze and Iron Age sites are being looted and destroyed at an unprecedented rate throughout Southeast Asia - a fact highlighted by HeritageWatch at their website.