Notice2023-02630
Notice of Inventory Completion: North Carolina Office of State Archaeology, Raleigh, NC
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
February 8, 2023
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
The North Carolina Office of State 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 North Carolina Office of State 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 88 Issue 26 (Wednesday, February 8, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 26 (Wednesday, February 8, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Page 8309]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-02630]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0035287; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: North Carolina Office of State
Archaeology, Raleigh, NC
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The North Carolina Office of State 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 North Carolina Office of State 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 North Carolina Office of State
Archaeology at the address in this notice by March 10, 2023.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Emily McDowell, Office of State
Archaeology, 215 West Lane Street, Raleigh, NC 27616, telephone (919)
715-5599, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#294c4440455007444a4d465e4c454569474a4d4a5b074e465f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d6b3bbbfbaaff8bbb5b2b9a1b3baba96b8b5b2b5a4f8b1b9a0">[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 North Carolina
Office of State Archaeology, Raleigh, NC. The human remains and
associated funerary objects were removed from the Peachtree Mound and
Village Site (31CE1 and 31CE6) located in Cherokee County, NC.
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 North
Carolina Office of State Archaeology professional staff in consultation
with representatives of the Cherokee Nation; Eastern Band of Cherokee
Indians; and The Muscogee (Creek) Nation.
History and Description of the Remains
At an unknown time, believed to be 1982, human remains
representing, at minimum, one individual were removed from the
Peachtree Mound and Village site (31CE1 and 31CE6) in Cherokee County,
NC, by a former North Carolina Office of State Archaeology staff member
during a visit to the site to investigate extensive damage done to the
mound and village by pot hunters. This site had been monitored over
several years by previous staff at the Office of State Archaeology.
Although the only report on file for these visits, from 1982, does not
specify whether human remains were recovered, the Office of State
Archaeology reasonably believes that these human remains were removed
during that visit. The remains were collected from the surface of the
site and presumably belong to an adult. No known individuals were
identified. The 284 associated funerary objects are 225 pottery sherds,
35 animal bone fragments, 15 shell fragments, seven rocks, one daub,
and one flake.
Described as a ``platform mound,'' this site has been excavated
since the 1870s. The mound is believed to be a ceremonial structure.
Writing in 1941, Setzler and Jennings identified Peachtree Mound and
Village as a Woodland-to-Mississippian period site with a historic
occupation, and noted that, characteristically, it was similar to the
Cherokee village known as Guasili described by De Soto in 1540. Setzler
and Jennings also observed that the site's ``spatial centrality,
combined with its topographic isolation deep in the mountains, makes it
highly improbable that it was alternately occupied by Cherokee and
other Indian groups.'' Additionally, several of the pottery sherds have
been identified as Qualla, a phase specifically associated with
Cherokee occupation.
Determinations Made by the North Carolina Office of State Archaeology
Officials of the North Carolina Office of State 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 one individual of
Native American ancestry.
<bullet> Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the 284 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 and the Cherokee
Nation; Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; and the United Keetoowah Band
of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma (hereafter referred to ``The 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 Emily McDowell, North Carolina Office of
State Archaeology, 215 West Lane Street, Raleigh, NC 27616, telephone
(919) 715-5599, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c9aca4a0a5b0e7a4aaada6beaca5a589a7aaadaabbe7aea6bf"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0461696d687d2a6967606b73616868446a676067762a636b72">[email protected]</span></a>, by March 10, 2023.
After that date, if no additional requestors have come forward,
transfer of control of the human remains and associated funerary
objects to The Tribes may proceed.
The North Carolina Office of State Archaeology is responsible for
notifying The Tribes and The Muscogee (Creek) Nation that this notice
has been published.
Dated: February 1, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-02630 Filed 2-7-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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