Notice2022-02037
Notice of Inventory Completion: Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology, Phillips Academy, Andover, MA
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Published
February 1, 2022
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
The Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology has completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects, in consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations, and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects, and present- day Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to request transfer of control of these human remains and associated funerary objects should submit a written request to the Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology. If no additional requestors come forward, transfer of control of the human remains and associated funerary objects to the lineal descendants, Indian Tribes, or Native Hawaiian organizations stated in this notice may proceed.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 21 (Tuesday, February 1, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 21 (Tuesday, February 1, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5501-5503]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-02037]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0033353; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: Robert S. Peabody Institute of
Archaeology, Phillips Academy, Andover, MA
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology has completed
an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects, in
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian
organizations, and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation
between the human remains and associated funerary objects, and present-
day Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. Lineal descendants
or representatives of any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization
not identified in this notice that wish to request transfer of control
of these human remains and associated funerary objects should submit a
written request to the Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology. If
no additional requestors come forward, transfer of control of the human
remains and associated funerary objects to the lineal descendants,
Indian Tribes, or Native Hawaiian organizations stated in this notice
may proceed.
DATES: Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian Tribe or
Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to
request transfer of control of these human remains and associated
funerary objects should submit a written request with information in
support of the request to the Robert S. Peabody Institute of
Archaeology at the address in this notice by March 3, 2022.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Ryan J. Wheeler, Robert S. Peabody
Institute of Archaeology, Phillips Academy, 180 Main Street, Andover,
MA 01810, telephone (978) 749-4490, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#ed9f9a85888881889fad8c8389829b889fc3888998"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0270756a67676e677042636c666d7467702c676677">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is here given in accordance with the
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25
U.S.C. 3003, of the completion of an inventory of human remains and
associated funerary objects under the control of the Robert S. Peabody
Institute of Archaeology, Phillips Academy, Andover, MA. The human
remains and associated funerary objects were removed from eight sites
in Cumberland, Hancock, and Washington Counties, ME.
This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's
administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA, 25 U.S.C. 3003(d)(3). The
determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of the
museum, institution, or Federal agency that has control of the Native
American human remains and associated funerary objects. The National
Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.
Consultation
A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by the Robert
S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology professional staff in consultation
with representatives of the Aroostook Band of Micmacs [previously
listed as Aroostook Band of Micmac Indians]; Houlton Band of Maliseet
Indians; Passamaquoddy Tribe; and the Penobscot Nation [previously
listed as Penobscot Tribe of Maine] (hereafter referred to as ``The
Consulted Tribes'').
History and Description of the Remains
In 1915, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual
were removed from Wolfe's Neck (014.101) in Cumberland County, ME, by
Warren K. Moorehead. During an inventory project at the Robert S.
Peabody Institute in 2019, the remains were identified (and confirmed
by a physical anthropologist) as Native American human remains.
Moorehead had identified the site as Me 171/7. In 1968, Dean Snow
assigned it number 014.101. Snow's record noted that ancestral human
remains had been found at the site by Dr. Jos E. Porter of Maine
General Hospital, in Portland, and that those human remains were
subsequently transferred to the Anthropology Department at Harvard
University on August 10, 1953. The human remains at the Peabody
Institute likely originated from one of the eroding shell middens in
the area, which would date them sometime between 2,800 years ago and
the arrival of colonial settlers. No known individual was identified.
The 36 associated funerary objects are 29 ceramic sherds and seven
faunal bone fragments.
In 1913, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual
were removed from Boynton's Shellheap (043.004) in Hancock County, ME,
by Warren K. Moorehead and Charles Peabody under the auspices of the
Department of Archaeology at Phillips Academy (now the Robert S.
Peabody Institute of Archaeology). During a recent inventory project,
the remains were identified as Native American human remains. The
individual's age and sex could not be ascertained. Other human remains
from Boynton's Shellheap were listed in a Notice of Inventory
Completion published in the Federal Register on November 21, 2001 (66
FR 58522-58523, November 21, 2001) and were subsequently transferred to
The Consulted Tribes. Based on artifact assemblages recovered from the
site, Boynton's Shellheap was occupied between 2,150 and 500 B.P. No
known individual was identified. No associated funerary objects are
present.
Sometime in the 1930s, human remains representing, at minimum, one
individual were removed from Falls Island (080.050) in Washington
County, ME, by avocational archeologists John and Douglas Knapton. The
human
[[Page 5502]]
remains were given to the Robert S. Peabody Institute as part of the
materials recovered during the Northeast Archaeological Survey
conducted in Maine from 1932 to1954. During a recent inventory project,
the remains were identified as Native American human remains. The
individual's age and sex could not be ascertained due to the
fragmentary nature of the human remains. The artifact assemblage from
Falls Island is consistent with coastal shell-bearing sites from the
Middle Maritime Woodland and Late Maritime Woodland periods dating
between approximately 2200 B.P. and contact with European settlers. The
two associated funerary objects are two faunal bone fragments.
From 1936 to 1940, human remains representing, at minimum, five
individuals were removed from Nevin Shellheap (042.011) in Hancock
County, ME, by Douglas Byers and Frederick Johnson. In March of 1941,
the majority of the human remains removed by Byers and Johnson from the
Nevin Shellheap were loaned to the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and
Ethnology at Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. On June 28, 1989 and
August 8, 1997, control of those human remains was transferred to
Harvard University, and they were listed in a Notice of Inventory
Completion published by Harvard University in the Federal Register on
August 11, 2021 (86 FR 44038-44040, August 11, 2021). The fragmentary
remains of the five individuals listed in this notice were
inadvertently overlooked during the 1941, 1989, and 1997 transfers to
Harvard University. They were identified as Native American human
remains during an inventory project carried out at the Robert S.
Peabody Institute between 2019 and 2021. The human remains belong to
one subadult of unknown sex, one subadult female, two adult males, and
one small adult of unknown sex. No known individuals were identified.
On April 28, 2015, the Robert S. Peabody Institute listed 462
associated funerary objects from this site in a Notice of Inventory
Completion published in the Federal Register (80 FR 23582-23583, April
28, 2015). During the 2019-2021 inventory project, it located an
additional 655 associated funerary objects. The 655 additional
associated funerary objects are two bone harpoons (including
fragments), three modified faunal remains, three bone perforators
(including fragments), 638 miscellaneous faunal remains, one unmodified
stone, one stone projectile point, four dog burials, one pebble coated
with red ochre, one lot of stone and soil matrix, and one ceramic
sherd.
In 1913, one associated funerary object was removed from Hodgkin's
Point Shellheap in Hancock County, ME, by Warren K. Moorehead under the
auspices of the Department of Archaeology at Phillips Academy. The
human remains from Hodgkin's Point Shellheap were listed in a Notice of
Inventory Completion published in the Federal Register on May 22, 1997
(62 FR 28063-28064, May 22, 1997) and were subsequently transferred to
the Passamaquoddy Tribe and the Penobscot Nation [previously listed as
Penobscot Tribe of Maine]. During a recent inventory project, the
associated funerary object, a faunal bone fragment, was identified.
In 1956, two associated funerary objects were removed from Pond
Island Site (041.030) in Hancock County, ME, by Douglas Byers. The
human remains from Pond Island Site were listed in a Notice of
Inventory Completion published in the Federal Register on November 21,
2001 (66 FR 58522-58523, November 21, 2001) and were subsequently
transferred to The Consulted Tribes. During a recent inventory project,
the associated funerary objects, a beaver tooth and a ceramic sherd,
were identified.
In 1915, 27 associated funerary objects were removed from Holbrook
Island in Hancock County, ME, by Warren K. Moorehead. The human remains
from Holbrook Island were listed in a Notice of Inventory Completion
published in the Federal Register on January 10, 1995 (60 FR 2611-2612,
January 10, 1995) and were subsequently transferred to the
Passamaquoddy Tribe and the Penobscot Nation [previously listed as
Penobscot Tribe of Maine]. The Holbrook Island Site is believed to have
been occupied between 900 and 1500 C.E. During a recent inventory
project, the 27 associated funerary objects were identified. They are
21 stone bifaces (including fragments), four modified faunal remains,
and two unmodified faunal remains.
In 1921, four associated funerary objects were removed from
Ludlow's Point Shellheap in Hancock County, ME, by Warren K. Moorehead.
The human remains from Ludlow's Point Shellheap were listed in a Notice
of Inventory Completion published in the Federal Register on July 18,
1995 (60 FR 36827, July 18, 1995) and were subsequently transferred to
the Passamaquoddy Tribe and the Penobscot Nation [previously listed as
Penobscot Tribe of Maine]. Ludlow's Point Shellheap is believed to have
been occupied between 900 and 1500 C.E. During a recent inventory
project, the associated funerary objects, four fragments of modified
faunal remains, were identified.
Past consultation with The Consulted Tribes has revealed compelling
lines of evidence tying the Wabanaki to the land today known as Maine,
New England, and the Canadian Maritimes. The Wabanki have lived
uninterrupted on this land for over 12,000 years. Wabanaki oral history
is often tied to specific landscape features, with language and stories
reflecting a long presence in Maine. Archeological evidence has also
established a cultural relationship between the Wabanaki and ancestral
populations in that region.
Determinations Made by the Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology
Officials of the Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology have
determined that:
<bullet> Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described
in this notice represent the physical remains of eight individuals of
Native American ancestry.
<bullet> Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the 727 objects
described in this notice are reasonably believed to have been placed
with or near individual human remains at the time of death or later as
part of the death rite or ceremony.
<bullet> Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), there is a relationship of
shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the Native
American human remains and associated funerary objects to The Consulted
Tribes.
Additional Requestors and Disposition
Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian Tribe or Native
Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to
request transfer of control of these human remains and associated
funerary objects should submit a written request with information in
support of the request to Dr. Ryan J. Wheeler, Robert S. Peabody
Institute of Archaeology, Phillips Academy, 180 Main Street, Andover,
MA 01810, telephone (978) 749-4490, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#acdedbc4c9c9c0c9deeccdc2c8c3dac9de82c9c8d9"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c1b3b6a9a4a4ada4b381a0afa5aeb7a4b3efa4a5b4">[email protected]</span></a>, by
March 3, 2022. After that date, if no additional requestors have come
forward, transfer of control of the human remains and associated
funerary objects to The Consulted Tribes may proceed.
The Robert S. Peabody Institute is responsible for notifying The
Consulted Tribes that this notice has been published.
[[Page 5503]]
Dated: January 26, 2022.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2022-02037 Filed 1-31-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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