There is archeological evidence to show that the inhabitants of parts of the region which is now known as Cambodia were practising simplistic Neolithic crop growing and stock rearing by the first and second centuries B.C.

But by the first century A.D., the peoples who had settled there (believed to have migrated from southeastern China) had developed relatively stable and ordered societies.

The most advanced of these lived along the coast and in the areas surrounding the Mekong River valley and Tonle Sap (The Great Lake), where they cultivated rice, kept domesticated animals and harvested the bounties from both sea and lake.

Rice, Fish and seafood were the main staples in their diet.