The Arabian Peninsula and its Role in the Islamic World

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1. Field Research in Saudi Arabia :In 1999, the areas including Ha'il, Tayma, Medina and those located northwest from Riyadh were investigated. We made intensive survey about the archaeological sites centering on the pilgrimage route of the northwestern area, and collected ethnological information about local people. In the urban areas, such as Riyadh and other cities, we investigated by catching about the present condition of the museums that are built in recent years. Moreover in the Research Center of Historical Documents of Riyadh, the National Museum, and the Research Unit of Archaeological Agency, we inspected about the present condition of computerized-database in the related fields in Saudi Arabia.In 2000, investigation of the eastern part, mainly Hijaz area, and the northwestern part were performed. In the eastern area, we visited the archaeological sites around Jedda. The situation of museums was also investigated. Along with archaeological investigation of the areas from Jedda to Mecca, the situation of museums was investigated in Ta'f. Ta'if is famous as an area in which there are many Chinese Muslims. Since it was a very important area from the viewpoint of cultural exchanges between the East Asia world and the Arabian Peninsula, we made preliminary investigation about the community of the Chinese Muslims in that region.2. Ethnological Database :We are under construction of the database for intermediate Arabic. We are also planning to make the database about a distribution of Saudi Arabian archaeological sites. We have not yet held a whole image of the archaeological sites in the Arabian Peninsula nor a distribution of inscriptions. But the computer-aided analysis using such an archaeological database will surely contribute to grasping the actual condition of population movements and cultural exchanges in the Arabian Peninsula.