ARMENIA: CROSSROADS OF CULTURE

Supplement to the Armenian permanent exhibit, Hall of Asian Peoples, American Museum of Natural History.

“Armenia has been an important part of western Asia for almost 3000 years. Yet its contributions are little known. Until now no major museum in the West has had a cohesive collection of Armenian artifacts.

In 1977 the curators of the American Museum of Natural History invited the Advisory Council for Armenian Studies at Columbia University to assist in assembling an Armenian exhibit. It has taken almost three years to collect these artifacts of traditional Armenian life. Collecting them was extremely difficult. Most personal objects had been left behind in Armenian homes during the deportation and genocide of the Armenian people by the Ottoman Turks in 1915. Donors generously parted with what was sometimes their last sentimental possession. This exhibit testifies to the pride of Armenian-Americans for their culture of origin. –Preface