Fabienne Luco Anthropologist Independant Researcher : Ph. D. candidate, E.H.E.S.S (Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales- Paris), Unité Mixte de recherche CASE (Centre Asie du Sud Est) Research : « Expression of social values in space : the case of populations living on the framework of old capital cities - Angkor in Cambodia » Abstract : “The angkorian palimpsest : Housing, agriculture and religious practices of villagers living on ancient traces.” For the foreign explorers who came between the 16 th century and the late 19 th century, Angkor appeared as a forgotten antique city of stone engulfed by the jungle. Though, distancing itself from this romantic image, Angkor continued to live throughout middle and recent history as attested in writings and late remains. The site inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1992 is now mostly considered as an archaeological and tourism area. But far from being fossilised, the site is a living place. Populations still live on the Angkorian framework. Set back and unnoticed from the circuit roads, today 30 villages with a population of 40,000 are settled in the area of the monumental site of Angkor. Today, these populations are torn between the aspiration of profiting from the country as it opens to the market economy and mass tourism, and the restrictions of living in a place that is freezing into a museum representation. With international heritage developers advocating the recreation of an ancient idealised space, the solutions offered to the local populations are whether to leave the site or to become part of its folklore. But the approach these inhabitants chose when settling into this area whilst developing it within the framework of their living culture shall be taken into consideration. Angkor is not stuck in the past. Populations continue to live and to lay modern layers on top of the ancient structure. The presentation aims to recognize the outstanding linkages between the local communities and Angkor landscape. It will pay a special attention to the way local populations have used the angkorian remains (dikes, mound, temples, statues) in terms of housing, water access and religious practices. Oxcarts on Angkor Wat causeway – End of 19 th century