West Asia represents a dramatic historical landscape which repeatedly marked important turning points in human history: the exodus of modern humans from Africa; the beginning of agriculture; the development of complex societies called ‘cities’, the invention of a writing system, the emergence of territorial states and the establishment of monotheistic religions. This long historical development of human society is so important that it has formed the social and cultural foundation of every society in the modern world. It is expected that the Research Center for West Asian Civilization at the University of Tsukuba will be at the forefront of world-wide research and research communities in this area.