Notice2023-09582
Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, Mobile, AL
Primary source
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Published
May 5, 2023
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, has completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice. The human remains and associated funerary objects were removed from Clay and Lowndes Counties, MS.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 87 (Friday, May 5, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 87 (Friday, May 5, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29158-29160]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-09582]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0035778; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
Mobile District, Mobile, AL
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile
District, has completed an inventory of human remains and associated
funerary objects and has determined that there is a cultural
affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects
and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice. The
human remains and associated funerary objects were removed from Clay
and Lowndes Counties, MS.
DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary
objects in this notice may occur on or after June 5, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Ms. Alexandria Smith, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile
District, 109 St. Joseph Street, P.O. Box 2288, Mobile, AL 36628-0001,
telephone (251) 690-2728, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#91d0fdf4e9f0fff5e3f8f0bfdfbfc2fcf8e5f9d1e4e2f0f2f4bff0e3fce8bffcf8fd"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="40012c2538212e243229216e0e6e132d2934280035332123256e21322d396e2d292c">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice is published as part of the
National Park Service's administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA.
The determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District. The National Park
Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.
Additional information on the determinations in this notice, including
the results of consultation, can be found in the inventory or related
records held by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District.
[[Page 29159]]
Description
Human remains representing, at minimum, 40 individuals were removed
from Clay County, MS. The Kellogg Village site (22CL527) was located in
the Divide Cut Section of the Tennessee Tombigbee Waterway, and
contained Middle Archaic, Woodland, and Mississippian components. The
site was excavated by the Department of Anthropology, Mississippi State
University under principal investigator James R. Atkinson and field
director G. Gerald Berry, between June 29 and September 16, 1978. The
age and sex of the individuals are undetermined. No known individuals
were identified. The 391 associated funerary objects are 36 lots
consisting of soil samples, one burned bone, 66 lots consisting of
ceramics, 77 lots consisting of shells, 57 lots consisting of
unmodified stones, 85 faunal remains, three intact vessels, four fired
clay, five lots consisting of miscellaneous stone/chert, two lots
consisting of mixed fill, 11 lithics, five beads, four shell gorgets,
one lot consisting of stone/shell fill, one lot consisting of organics/
botanicals, four flotation samples, 11 projectile points, one sandstone
cobble, one C-14 sample, one firecracked rock, five lots consisting of
chipped/miscellaneous stones from pit fill, four lots consisting of
burial fill, one groundstone, two conch shell dipper/cups, one fired
clay ball, and two celts.
Human remains representing, at minimum, three individuals were
removed from Clay County, MS. The Yarborough Site (22CL814) is a small
settlement with a midden area containing Late Gulf Formation Stage
components, with evidence of a farmstead during the Late Mississippian,
Sorrells Phase. The site was excavated by the Office of Archaeological
Research, University of Alabama under the direction of Carey B. Oakley,
principal investigator, and Carlos Solis, project director. A small
number of human skeletal fragments were collected and at least one
burial was designated. The age and sex of the individuals are
undetermined. No known individuals were identified. The 10 associated
funerary objects are three lots consisting of botanicals, five lots
consisting of soil samples, one lot consisting of mixed stone, and one
lot consisting of lithics.
Human remains representing, at minimum, 30 individuals were removed
from Lowndes County, MS. The Shell Bluff site (22LO530) is a shell
midden and base camp with Late Woodland and Miller III components. The
site was excavated by the University of Southern Mississippi under
principal investigators Drs. David Heisler and Robert Gilbert and field
directors Thomas Padgett and Don Crusoe in July and August of 1979 and
completed mid-October through late November 1979. The age and sex of
the individuals are undetermined. No known individuals were identified.
The 345 associated funerary objects are 64 lots consisting of ceramics,
28 lots consisting of shells, 13 lots consisting of daub, 52 lots
consisting of lithics, 78 lots consisting of soil samples, 36 lots
consisting of faunal remains, two projectile points, one chert pebble,
18 lots consisting of firecracked rock, six lots consisting of burial
fill, three lots consisting of unsorted screen material, six pebbles,
18 pollen samples, three C-14 samples, three fired clay, two lots
consisting of grinding stone fragments, two lots consisting of ferrous
sandstone, three chert cores, one lot consisting of unmodified rock,
one hammerstone fragment, three sandstone, one pipe stem fragment, and
one lot consisting of preform.
Human remains representing, at minimum, nine individuals were
removed from Lowndes County, MS. The Vaughn Mound site (22LO538) has
Middle Archaic, Woodland, Miller III, and Miller IV components. The
site was identified by Marc D. Rucker as part of a field survey and was
excavated by the Mississippi State University's Department of
Anthropology under Rucker's direction, with the assistance of James R.
Atkinson and Michael D. Walls, over 10 weeks during the summer of 1973.
The age and sex of the individuals are undetermined. No known
individuals were identified. The 47 associated funerary objects are one
lot consisting of firecracked rock, two lots consisting of daub, 14
lots consisting of faunal remains, six lots consisting of shells, one
lot consisting of sandstone, 12 lots consisting of soil samples, three
pebbles, two lithics, two clay, one possible scooping tool, one
sandstone grinding stone, one shell ornament, and one lot consisting of
unmodified rock.
Human remains representing, at a minimum, 15 individuals were
removed from Lowndes County, MS. The Tibbee Creek site (22LO600) has
components from the early Gulf Formational through the Mississippian
with the most concentrated occupation during the late Woodland Miller
III phase. The site was excavated by the Department of Anthropology,
Mississippi State University under the direction of Crawford Blakeman,
Principal Investigator, and John O'Hear, Project Director and later
Principal Investigator, beginning in November 1976. The site was
completed in August 1977. The age and sex of the individuals are
undetermined. No known individuals were identified. The 189 associated
funerary objects are 43 lots consisting of faunal remains, 21 lots
consisting of lithics, 31 lots consisting of ceramics, 46 lots
consisting of shells, two lots consisting of firecracked rock, eight
lots consisting of charcoal samples, six lots consisting of unmodified
stones, two lots consisting of screened fill, one projectile point,
three lots consisting of clay, one seed/corn cob, one chert drill, one
stone sphere, one bone ornament, four flotation samples, one lot
consisting of pit fill, two pebbles, one grooved stone, one sandstone,
one acorn, seven lots consisting of unsorted fill, one turtle shell,
one organic material, one wood/charcoal flotation, one bead, and one
drilled bear canine.
Cultural Affiliation
The human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice
are connected to one or more identifiable earlier groups, tribes,
peoples, or cultures. There is a relationship of shared group identity
between the identifiable earlier groups, tribes, peoples, or cultures
and one or more Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. The
following types of information were used to reasonably trace the
relationship: archeological, geographical, historical, other relevant
information, and expert opinion.
Determinations
Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian
organizations, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District has
determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of 97 individuals of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> The 982 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> There is a relationship of shared group identity that can
be reasonably traced between the human remains and associated funerary
objects described in this notice and The Chickasaw Nation and The
Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.
Requests for Repatriation
Written requests for repatriation of the human remains and
associated funerary objects in this notice must be sent to the
[[Page 29160]]
Responsible Official identified in ADDRESSES. Requests for repatriation
may be submitted by:
1. Any one or more of the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian
organizations identified in this notice.
2. Any lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian
organization not identified in this notice who shows, by a
preponderance of the evidence, that the requestor is a lineal
descendant or a culturally affiliated Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian
organization.
Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects
in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after June 5, 2023. If
competing requests for repatriation are received, the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers, Mobile District, must determine the most appropriate
requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint repatriation of the
human remains and associated funerary objects are considered a single
request and not competing requests. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
Mobile District, is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to
the Indian Tribes identified in this notice.
Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act,
25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.9, 10.10,
and 10.14.
Dated: April 25, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-09582 Filed 5-4-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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