Sarah Klassen

2017-11-19+17.02.15_edited+copy.jpg — About Me
I am an archaeologist deeply committed to unraveling the complex relationship between urbanism, rural agriculture, and sustainability in the face of shifting socio-environmental conditions. Through my interdisciplinary research, I aim to uncover how historical societies navigated these challenges, offering valuable insights for modern sustainable practices.

Research Interests

Cultural resource management

My team specializes in remote sensing techniques including ground-penetrating radar (GPR), light detection and ranging (lidar), photogrammetry, and geographic information systems analysis (GIS).

Research Projects

Understanding past processes of urbanization and regional networks is critical for the continued growth of resilient communities today in urban and rural contexts alike.

This is particularly crucial in developing urban areas in tropical environments characterized by monsoon systems, like Southeast Asia.

2+-+CALI.jpg — Cambodian Archaeological Lidar Initiative

Koh Ker Archaeological Project

3%2B-%2BKALC.jpg — Khmer Archaeological Lidar Consortium

Greater Angkor Project

Dissertation
13.4125° N, 103.8670° E
Angkor, Cambodia (9th-14th centuries C.E.) is home to one of the largest medieval water management systems in the world.
How was the system constructed and how did it respond to climatic and social challenges?

Find out how

Media Appearances

Lost Cities of the Jungle

Sarah and her colleagues use lidar to document the vast cities of the Khmer Empire.

Ancient China from Above

Sarah joins Alan Maca as he uses cutting-edge technology to explore ancient China in this three-part mini series.

Expedition Unknown

Sarah joins Josh Gates to explore the ancient city of Koh Ker.

Chasing the Equinox

Explore archaeological sites across the world that were specifically engineered to celebrate the sun during the equinox.

CV

EDUCATION

Ph.D. (2018), M.A. (2013) Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ

B.A. (2010) Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH

ACADEMIC POSITIONS

University of Toronto, Postdoctoral Fellow

Leiden University, ERC Marie Curie Postdoctoral Scholar

University of British Columbia, SSHRC Postdoctoral Scholar

Maricopa Community College, Adjunct Professor

Diachronic modeling of the population within the medieval Greater Angkor Region settlement complex

A metropolis arose in medieval Cambodia - new research shows how many people lived in the Angkor Empire over time

Archaeologists often need to date and group artifact types to discern typologies, chronologies, and classifications. For over a century, statisticians have been using classification and clustering techniques to infer patterns in data that can be defi

Ground penetrating radar, probing, and excavation were used to create a contour
map of the topography of a buried laterite pavement forming the spillway of a large
abandoned reservoir at the Angkorian‐period city of Koh Ker in Cambodia.
Calculations

This paper examines the construction and design of a 7-km long embankment, probably built for King Jayavarman IV between 928 and 941 CE, as part of a new capital. We calculate that the capacities of the outlets were too small, and conclude that the e

Turquoise has played an important role in the Southwest, both today and in the distant past. Increasingly, archaeologists are
coming to appreciate that the mineral was likely valued for its symbolism, rather than its chemical properties or economic w

Airborne laser scanning or lidar has now been used by archaeologists for twenty years, with many of the first applications relying on data acquired by public agencies seeking to establish baseline elevation maps, mainly in Europe and North America. M

The Greater Angkor region, in northwestern Cambodia, was home to several successive capitals of the Khmer Empire (9th to 15th centuries CE). During this time, the Khmer developed an extensive agricultural and water management system characterized by

Over a thousand years ago, the ancient Khmer civilization emerged as a powerful cultural and political force in what is now Cambodia and came to dominate much of Southeast Asia. Between the 9th and 15th centuries, the Khmer Empire created some of the

The Greater Angkor Region was the center of the Khmer Empire from the 9th until the
13th to the 14th centuries CE, when it entered a period of decline. Many studies have suggested that the decline of Angkor was precipitated by several factors, includ

The evolution of agro-urbanism: A case study from Angkor, Cambodia