JASPAR:The Japan-Spain-Pakistan Archaeological Research Initiative） は、NPO法人南アジア文化遺産センター（JCSACH）、ポンペウ・ファブラ大学（PFU：スペイン）、シャー・アブドゥル・ラティーフ大学（SALU：パキスタン）、シンド文化遺産保存信託基金ドキュメンテーション・センター（CDC-EFT：パキスタン）の間で締結された協力協定（MoU）の下で、2018年2月より開始された国際共同プロジェクトです。本プロジェクトでは、1) 日本・スペイン・パキスタンの学術・教育上の協力と相互理解の促進、および2) パキスタン・シンド州における考古学と文化遺産保護の分野における共同事業の実施を目的としています。

JASPARによるフィールド調査は、パレオアジア文化史学（文科省科研費学術新学術領域研究）、RAINDROPS（Resilience and Adaptation to Drylands: 乾燥地におけるレジリエンスと適応：ERC-Stg-2017）、ModAgrO（農耕の起源と発展のモデリング研究）の3つの国際研究プロジェクトと、SALUによるパキスタン国内の研究プロジェクトを合同するかたちで進めています。調査研究の対象は、a) 古環境研究、b) 考古学、c) 民族考古学（エスのアーケオロジー）と多岐にわたります。

Press release 02/03/2018 

JASPAR – The Japan-Spain-Pakistan Archaeological Research Initiative 

JASPAR is a new research initiative in the archaeology of Sindh based on an MoU signed by the Shah Abdul Latif University (SALU, Khairpur, Sindh), the Endowment Fund Trust for Preservation of the Heritage of Sindh, the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF, Barcelona, Spain) and the Japanese Centre for South Asian Cultural Heritage (JCSACH, Tokyo, Japan). The initiative is coordinated by Prof. Dr G. Veesar of SALU, Prof. M. Madella of UPF and A. Noguchi of JCSACH/  The University Museum, The University of Tokyo.  

JASPAR is an umbrella of projects interested in studying the palaeoenvironment, archaeology and ethnoarchaeology of Sindh from early humans (PaleoAsia project) to the Harappan Civilization (RainDrops and ModAgrO projects) and beyond, while collaborating with local institutions and citizens. Sindh has an incredibly rich heritage and this initiative is set to unlock fundamental enquiries in human history such as who were the first modern humans of South Asia or when and how agriculture originated and developed in Indus Valley region. At the same time, JASPAR will work with local people to gather traditional knowledge currently under the risk of disappearing completely from the cultural heritage of Sindh and to use it to help understanding past human dynamics such as irrigation in drylands, or plant and animal resources use and processing.  

This year it was the first season of JASPAR and the team built up of three Pakistani (Prof Veesar, Prof Tasleem, Mr Amin), three Japanese (Prof Kitagawa of Nagoya University, Mr Atsushi, Mr Miki) and two Spanish (Prof Madella, Dr Lancelotti) scholars visited a set of archaeological sites in the Rohri Hills area, in the Thar Desert and in the main Indus valley to assess sites’ preservation and to plan for the first archaeological surveys and excavations to be carried out in the next season. The team also visited a village along the Kirthar Range to establish first contacts for the ethnoarchaeological works, specifically for studying traditional non-irrigated agriculture of winter and summer crops to create models for interpreting the Harappan Civilization cultivation techniques. 

The JASPAR Team 

Khairpur