Notice2023-09767
Notice of Inventory Completion: Maine State Museum, Augusta, ME
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
May 9, 2023
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Maine State Museum has completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects and has determined that there is no cultural affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects and any Indian Tribe. The human remains and associated funerary objects were removed from Cumberland, Franklin, Sagadahoc, York, Oxford, and Knox Counties, ME.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 89 (Tuesday, May 9, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 89 (Tuesday, May 9, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29941-29943]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-09767]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0035805; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: Maine State Museum, Augusta, ME
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 Maine State Museum has completed an
inventory of human remains and
[[Page 29942]]
associated funerary objects and has determined that there is no
cultural affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary
objects and any Indian Tribe. The human remains and associated funerary
objects were removed from Cumberland, Franklin, Sagadahoc, York,
Oxford, and Knox Counties, ME.
DATES: Disposition of the human remains and associated funerary objects
in this notice may occur on or after June 8, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Dr. Paula T. Work, Curator of Systematic Collections, Maine
State Museum, 83 SHS, Augusta, ME 04333-0083, telephone (207) 287-6604,
email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#becedfcbd2df90c9d1ccd5fed3dfd7d0db90d9d1c8"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="fb8b9a8e979ad58c948990bb969a92959ed59c948d">[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
Maine State Museum. 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 Maine
State Museum.
Description
In 1992, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual,
were removed from the Ormsby Site, ME15.51, in Cumberland County, ME.
These human remains were removed during an excavation contracted by
Central Maine Power Company. The cremated remains from Feature 5 most
likely belong to a juvenile, and they probably date to the Archaic
Period (9,000-3,600 BP). No known individual was identified. The one
associated funerary object is a fragment of worked animal bone (two
pieces of bone combined into one element).
On an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, one
individual, were removed from Clapboard Island, Portland, in Cumberland
County, ME. These human remains were donated to the Maine State Museum
in 1978 by Robert Crowley. The human remains consist of a partial femur
ball, a rib fragment, and two partial phalanges. Based on ages of other
Clapboard Island sites, these human remains could date to the Ceramic
Period. No known individual was identified. No associated funerary
objects are present.
Sometime between 1988 and the 1990s, human remains representing, at
minimum, one individual, were removed by archeological field schools
from Tracy Farm, Starks, ME69.11, Feature 2, in Franklin County, ME.
These human remains were transferred in 1995 to the Maine State Museum
from the University of Maine at Farmington Archaeology Research Center.
Feature 2 contained much of a deteriorated skeleton belonging to an
adult male 35-50 years old. Based on burial style and radiocarbon
dating (515 <plus-minus>60 BP), these human remains date to the Early
Contact Period. No known individual was identified. No associated
funerary objects are present.
In 1984, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual,
were removed from Tracy Farm, Starks, ME69.11, in Franklin County, ME.
Catalog numbers indicate that these human remains most likely were
transferred to the Maine State Museum in 1995 from the University of
Maine at Farmington. The human remains belong to an adult, probably
male. Based on radiocarbon dating (530 <plus-minus>40 BP), these human
remains date to the Late Ceramic Period. No known individual was
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
In 1984 (probable date), human remains representing, at minimum,
two individuals, were removed from Tracy Farm, Starks, ME69.11, in
Franklin County, ME. Catalog numbers indicate that these human remains
most likely were transferred to the Maine State Museum in 1995 from the
University of Maine at Farmington. The human remains--skull fragments
and a single molar--belong to an individual of indeterminate age and
sex. Based on radiocarbon dating of site materials (515 <plus-minus>60
BP), these human remains date to the Early Contact Period. No known
individual was identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
In 1978, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual,
were removed from West Bath, ME15.114, in Sagadahoc County, ME. The
human remains were found eroding from a riverbank. That same year,
these human remains were transferred to the Maine State Museum from the
State Medical Examiner's office. The human remains belong to a female
18-21 years old. Based on radiocarbon dating (625 <plus-minus>105 BP),
these human remains date to the Late Ceramic Period. No known
individual was identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
In 1962, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual,
were removed from Basin site, Phippsburg, ME15.20 in Sagadahoc County,
ME. These human remains were donated to the Maine State Museum in 1963
by the Maine Archaeological Society. The human remains--a skeleton--
belong to a female 25-35 years old. Based on radiocarbon dating (863
<plus-minus>47 BP), these human remains date to the Late Ceramic
Period. No known individual was identified. No associated funerary
objects are present.
In 2000, human remains representing, at minimum, two individuals,
were removed from Center Lovell, ME21.33, in Oxford County, ME. These
human remains were salvaged from an eroding burial and that same year,
were turned over to the Maine State Museum in 2000 by the Chief Medical
Examiner's Office. The human remains belong to an adult and a child,
and consist of the top portion of two skulls and an additional bone for
the child. No known individuals were identified. No associated funerary
objects are present.
On an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, one
individual, were removed from an unknown site (likely along the banks
of the Saco River) in York County, ME. These human remains were
collected by Enoch Jordan of Saco and given to the Dyer Library and
Saco Museum (DL/SM) in 1866 by Mrs. E.C. Jordan. The human remains were
transferred to the Maine State Museum in 2003 from DL/SM. The human
remains--a cranium--belong to a female of indeterminate age. No known
individual was identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
On an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, one
individual, were removed from the Erkkilas site, Warren, ME27.3, in
Knox County, ME. The human remains were donated to the Maine State
Museum in 1979 by Benjamin Smith. The human remains--a cranial
fragment--belong to an individual of indeterminate age and sex. The
human remains are dated to the Archaic Period, Moorehead phase (4,500-
3,800 BP). No known individual was identified. The two associated
funerary objects are a piece of ocher and a piece of pyrite.
Aboriginal Land
The human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice
were removed from known geographic locations. These locations are the
aboriginal lands of the Eastern Abenaki and other tribes that formerly
occupied what is now Cumberland, Knox, Oxford, Sagadahoc, and York
Counties and portions of Franklin County in the State of Maine and that
are related to one or more Indian Tribes. The following information was
used to identify the related Indian Tribes: Acts of Congress that
include the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act of 1980 (Pub. L. 96-420,
94 Stat. 1785), the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians Supplementary
Claims
[[Page 29943]]
Settlement Act of 1986 (Pub. L. 99-566, 100 Stat. 3184), and the
Aroostook Band of Micmacs Settlement Act of 1991 (Pub. L. 102-171, 105
Stat. 1143); the legislative history of those Acts of Congress; and
other relevant, authoritative governmental determinations. Accordingly,
it is the recommendation of the Maine State Museum that disposition of
the described human remains and objects in this notice be made be to
the Mi'kmaq Nation, Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, Passamaquoddy
Tribe, and the Penobscot Nation, collectively represented by the
Wabanaki Intertribal Repatriation Committee.
Determinations
Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes, the Maine State Museum
has determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of 12 individuals of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> The three 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> No relationship of shared group identity can be reasonably
traced between the human remains and associated funerary objects and
any Indian Tribe.
<bullet> The human remains and associated funerary objects
described in this notice were removed from the aboriginal land of
tribes related to the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians; Mi'kmaq Nation
(Previously listed as Aroostook Band of Micmacs); Passamaquoddy Tribe;
and the Penobscot Nation.
Requests for Disposition
Written requests for disposition of the human remains and
associated funerary objects in this notice must be sent to the
Responsible Official identified in ADDRESSES. Requests for disposition
may be submitted by:
1. Any one or more of the Indian Tribes 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, or who shows that the requestor is an aboriginal land
Indian Tribe.
Disposition of the human remains and associated funerary objects
described in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after June 8,
2023. If competing requests for disposition are received, the Maine
State Museum must determine the most appropriate requestor prior to
disposition. Requests for joint disposition of the human remains and
associated funerary objects are considered a single request and not
competing requests. The Maine State Museum 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 and
10.11.
Dated: May 3, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-09767 Filed 5-8-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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