MWU is holding a series of lecture entitled “The Culture and History of the Silk Road” inviting five foremost experts as lecturers. We asked Associate Professor Makoto Arimura of the Kanazawa University, an archaeologist, to speak at the first meeting titled as above.

Dr. Arimura first explained the geological feature of Caucasia before dealing with the course of the history. He then described the diffusion of mankind in the Paleolithic period as has been identified in Caucasia, origin and proliferation of the agricultural and herding society in the Neolithic period, origin of viticulture around the Neolithic period and the Copper age, Kula/Araxes culture in the Bronze age, the rise and fall of the empire of Urartu during the Iron age and the origin of the Armenian nation ensuing from the fall of the empire. It was quite an informative occasion for us to learn about the Armenian culture of each period. In the Q&A session after the lecture we exchanged active discussions on Armenia and the Silk Road.