Subfolder: W2_Asian_Civilizations | Parent Section: W — World Civilizations
Document Count: 15 | Last Updated: March 14, 2026
Category Tags: world-civilizations, serpent-traditions, religion, ritual-practice, cultural-practice, shamanism, cosmology, civilization-profile

OVERVIEW

This subfolder contains 15 documents covering Asian Civilizations within the World Civilizations section. Topics include Jōmon People and Pre-Yamato Japan, Angkor Wat, Khmer Cosmology, and Hindu-Buddhist Temple Mountains, Daoism and Chinese Alchemy, Tibetan Buddhism, Bön, and Hidden Knowledge (Terma), Jain Cosmology and Non-Violence Philosophy and 10 more topics. Key themes span animism, ainu, hokkaido, khmer empire, cambodia, jayavarman vii.

KEY POINTS

• W_2_01 — This document examines Jōmon People and Pre-Yamato Japan, a topic within the Global Traditions research area.
• W_2_02 — Angkor Wat is the largest religious monument ever built — a 162.6-hectare temple complex in northwestern Cambodia, constructed under King Suryavarman II (r.
• W_2_03 — Daoism is one of the world's oldest continuous philosophical-religious traditions, originating in China by at least the 4th century BCE and likely much earlier.
• W_2_04 — Tibet's religious traditions represent one of the world's most elaborate systems for the exploration and mapping of consciousness states — from the Six Yogas of Naropa to the Dzogchen practices…
• W_2_05 — Jainism is one of the world's oldest living religions, with roots extending to at least the 9th century BCE and traditional claims reaching far deeper into prehistory.
• W_2_06 — Sikhism, founded by Guru Nanak (1469–1539 CE) in the Punjab region, is the youngest of the world's major religions and among the most radical in its rejection of caste hierarchy, gender inequality,…
• W_2_07 — While A_4_04 (Kojiki) covers the foundational mythological texts of Japanese religion, this document examines Shinto as a living religious system — its ritual practices, architectural traditions,…
• W_2_08 — Korean shamanism (Muism or Musok, 무속) is one of the oldest continuous spiritual traditions in East Asia, predating the introduction of Buddhism (4th century CE) and Confucianism to the Korean…
• W_2_09 — The Ainu are the Indigenous people of Hokkaido (northern Japan), Sakhalin, and the Kuril Islands, whose cosmological system centers on the concept of kamuy — divine spirits that inhabit all natural…
• W_2_10 — The Hmong — a Hmong-Mien-speaking people originating in highland southern China with diaspora communities across Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, and the United States — maintain one of the most elaborate…
• W_2_11 — Ancestor veneration — the ritual maintenance of relationships with deceased family members through offerings, prayers, and commemorative ceremonies — constitutes the deepest continuous layer of East…
• W_2_12 — 802–1431 CE) — centered in present-day Cambodia and extending across much of mainland Southeast Asia — was one of the most powerful and sophisticated civilizations in world history, yet its true…
• W_2_13 — The Sogdians — an Eastern Iranian people centered in the fertile valleys of the Zerafshan and Kashkadarya rivers (modern Uzbekistan and Tajikistan — the cities of Samarkand and Bukhara) —…
• W_2_14 — The Song Dynasty (960–1279 CE) — divided into the Northern Song (960–1127, capital Kaifeng) and the Southern Song (1127–1279, capital Hangzhou/Lin'an after the loss of northern China to…
• W_2_15 — 192–1832 CE) was an Austronesian-speaking, Hindu-Buddhist maritime polity occupying the central and southern coast of modern-day Vietnam — a configuration that placed it at the crossroads of…

KEY THEMES & KEYWORDS

animism, ainu, hokkaido, khmer empire, cambodia, jayavarman vii, devaraja, mount meru, shiva, lidar, tonle sap, kami, angkor, buddhism, jōmon

DOCUMENT INDEX

WHAT TO EXPECT

Documents in this subfolder follow the project's 4-tier evidence system:

• Tier 1 (Verified): Peer-reviewed, archaeological record, primary texts
• Tier 2 (Credible): Academic, debated but supported by evidence
• Tier 3 (Speculative): Possible but unverified
• Tier 4 (Dubious): No credible source or contradicted by evidence

Tier distribution in this subfolder: 2: 4 docs

Each document includes a Quick Summary, tiered claims with specific evidence,

counter-arguments, bibliography, and cross-references to related documents across the corpus.

Subfolder summary auto-generated from corpus analysis. Last Updated: March 14, 2026