The earliest written language to have been found in the region is in Sanskrit, an Indian sacred language. The writings were carved in stones which could be dated back to 5th and 6th century, which show a strong influence of the Indian culture over the indigenous people.
Sometimes later, the Khmer Language seems to appear with many of its characters and words derived from Sanskrit. An oldest stone inscription written in Khmer language were found to be carved in 612 A.D. as its text said.
The contents of these stone inscriptions which were housed in the temples were mostly concern with religions, its ritual and philosophy, Indian epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata, Kings' salutations and some poetic verses. Some of these stone inscriptions also list the assets which were owned by the temples and by the dignitaries as well as the different objects needed for ritual ceremonies. Although these assets and objects had long been disappeared, these listings served as another jigsaw in our quest for knowledge of the Angkor. Little things had been said about the ordinary life of the local people, however, these stone inscriptions had helped us to retrace the history of Khmer and to understand its political and cultural structure.