Notice2024-03795
Notice of Inventory Completion: Office of the State Archaeologist Bioarchaeology Program, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
Primary source
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Published
February 26, 2024
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Office of the State Archaeologist Bioarchaeology Program (OSA-BP) 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 Buena Vista, Cherokee, Mills, O'Brien, Plymouth, and Polk Counties, IA.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 38 (Monday, February 26, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 38 (Monday, February 26, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14102-14104]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-03795]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0037441; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: Office of the State Archaeologist
Bioarchaeology Program, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
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 Office of the State Archaeologist
Bioarchaeology Program (OSA-BP) 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 Buena Vista, Cherokee, Mills, O'Brien, Plymouth, and Polk
Counties, IA.
DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary
objects in this notice may occur on or after March 27, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Dr. Lara Noldner, Office of the State Archaeologist
Bioarchaeology Program, University of Iowa, 700 S Clinton Street, Iowa
City, IA 52242, telephone (319) 384-0740, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#026e6370632f6c6d6e666c677042776b6d75632c676677"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="99f5f8ebf8b4f7f6f5fdf7fcebd9ecf0f6eef8b7fcfdec">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice is published as part of the
National Park Service's administrative
[[Page 14103]]
responsibilities under NAGPRA. The determinations in this notice are
the sole responsibility of the OSA-BP. 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 OSA-BP.
Description
In 2019, human remains representing, at minimum, six individuals
were removed from the Joy Creek Major site (13PM7) in Plymouth County,
IA. Flood-related breaches in a levee near the site caused the erosion
of a mortuary feature and the scattering of human remains across an
agricultural field. The human remains were collected by personnel from
the Sanford Museum in Cherokee, IA, and the OSA-BP. An older adolescent
or young adult male, a middle to older adult possible male, and three
adults of unknown age and sex are represented by the human remains. A
child 10-to-12 years old is represented by a naturally-shed deciduous
tooth (BP3443). No associated funerary objects are present.
In 1959 and 1963, human remains representing, at minimum, three
individuals were removed from the Wittrock Site (13OB4) in O'Brien
County, IA. Archeological excavations of this Mill Creek village were
conducted by the University of Iowa in 1959 and 1965, and by the
University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1963. Human skeletal remains
identified during the 1959 and 1965 excavations were previously
reported and reburied in 1978. In 2010, a human patella from the 1963
excavation of 13OB4 was transferred from the Department of Anthropology
at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to the Iowa Office of the State
Archaeologist (OSA). Two teeth from the 1963 excavation were
transferred from the Sanford Museum in Cherokee, Iowa, to the OSA-BP in
2014. Additional human elements from the 1959 excavation were
identified in the OSA Repository in 2014-2015 and transferred to the
OSA-BP (Burial Projects 3017, 3068, 3095). No associated funerary
objects are present.
In 1955, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual was
removed from the Phipps Site (13CK21) in Cherokee County, IA.
Archeological excavations of this Mill Creek village were conducted by
Reynold Rupp[eacute] and sponsored by the Northwest Chapter of the Iowa
Archaeological Society, the Sanford Museum, and the University of Iowa
from 1952-1956. Faunal remains from the 1955 field season were housed
at the Sanford Museum before being transferred to the OSA-BP in 2018.
During processing of these faunal remains, a single human tooth was
identified and transferred to the OSA-BP. The tooth, bearing the
catalog number CK4042, represents an older adult (Burial Project 3394).
No associated funerary objects are present.
At an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, four
individuals were removed from the Phipps Site (13CK21), the Bultman
Site (13BV2) and site 13CK1. An archeologist from the Sanford Museum in
Cherokee County, Iowa, noted the human remains on display at Jim's
History Barn in Peterson, IA. The human remains were confiscated by the
OSA-BP in 2019. At a minimum, four individuals, one juvenile and three
adults, are represented by a phalanx, three isolated teeth and a
partial mandible (Burial Project 3478). No associated funerary objects
are present.
In 1969, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual was
removed from the Broken Kettle West Site (13PM25) in Plymouth County,
IA. The site was excavated in 1969 by the University of Nebraska. At an
unknown date, these human remains were transferred to the OSA and
rediscovered in the OSA repository in 2019 (Burial Project 3482). Two
mandibular fragments represent one young adult (20-35 years old) of
indeterminate sex. No associated funerary objects are present.
In 1966, human remains representing, at minimum, four individuals
were removed from sites 13PM32, 13PM33, and possibly 13PM25 in Plymouth
County, IA. The original location was indicated as being on the Blue
Diamond Ranch, site numbers 13PM32 and 13PM33, where the University of
Wisconsin excavated in 1966. At an unknown date cremated human remains
from these sites were transferred to the University of Missouri. A bag
with the remains was also labeled 13PM25. In January of 2023, the
American Archaeology Division of the University of Missouri transferred
the human remains to the OSA-BP (Burial Project 3747). Fragmentary
cremated human remains represent four adults of indeterminate age and
sex. The one associated funerary object is one lot of charcoal.
In 1963, human remains representing, at minimum, 26 individuals
were removed from site 13PK38, also called the West Des Moines Burial
Site, in Polk County, IA. The burial site was impacted by construction
in 1963 and subsequently excavated by the State Department of History
and Archives, now the State Historical Society of Iowa. Human remains
excavated were transferred to the OSA in 1983 and then temporarily
loaned to Doug Owsley while at Louisiana State University in 1985.
Owsley then took the collection with him upon his transition to the
Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History. The human
remains were transferred back to the OSA-BP in November of 2021 (Burial
Project 3641). Mostly complete but commingled human remains represent
at least 21 adult individuals, two infants, and three juveniles ranging
in age from 2-17 years old. No associated funerary objects are present.
In 1971 and 1972, human remains representing, at minimum, one
individual were removed from 13ML130 in Mills County, IA. Excavations
were conducted at 13ML130 in 1971 and 1972 in a series of salvage
archeology efforts in association with the Iowa Highway Program.
Archeological material from the excavation was housed at the OSA
repository. In 2014, a partial mandible and an isolated tooth were
transferred to the OSA-BP after being discovered in the faunal material
from 13ML130. The human remains represent one individual of
indeterminate age and sex (BP 3066). No associated funerary objects are
present.
In 1971 and 1972, human remains representing, at minimum, one
individual were removed from 13ML135 in Mills County, IA. Excavations
were conducted at 13ML135 in 1971 and 1972 in a series of salvage
archeology efforts in association with the Iowa Highway Program.
Archeological material from the excavation was housed at the OSA
repository. In 2014, a foot phalanx was transferred to the OSA-BP after
being discovered in the faunal material from 13ML135. Thin sections of
human long bones were also found among the artifacts. The human remains
represent one individual of indeterminate age and sex (BP 3067). The 90
associated funerary objects are 17 potsherds, three rim sherds, one
bone fish hook, one knife fragment, one celt tip, three worked flakes,
10 unworked flakes, 26 faunal bone fragments, two charcoal samples, one
nutshell, one wood sample, one piece of daub, five pieces of limestone,
and 18 unmodified rocks.
In 1971 and 1972 human remains representing, at minimum, one
individual were removed from 13ML139 in Mills County, IA, during a
series of salvage archeology efforts in association with the Iowa
Highway Program. Archeological material from the excavation were
subsequently housed in the OSA repository. In 2017, a
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deciduous tooth crown was transferred to the OSA-BP after being
discovered in the faunal material from 13ML139. The human remains
represent one juvenile individual 10.5-11.5 years old (BP 3302). No
associated funerary objects are present.
In 1969 and 1970, human remains representing, at minimum, two
individuals were removed from a Nebraska Phase earthlodge site
(13ML124) in Mills County, IA. The human remains were excavated from
the site between 1969 and 1970 and were stored in the OSA repository.
In 2003, the human remains were discovered in the OSA repository (OSA
accession #312) and transferred to the OSA-BP. An older juvenile and a
young adult are represented by a femur and a single tooth (Burial
Project 1724). No associated funerary objects are present.
In 1995, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual
were removed from site 13ML175 in Mills County, IA. The human remains
were excavated from 13ML175 during a Phase III archeological project
conducted by the OSA in advance of road construction. The human remains
were transferred to the OSA-BP. A child between the ages of 10 and 12
years is represented by the naturally shed deciduous tooth (Burial
Project 849). No associated funerary objects are present.
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: anthropological information, archeological information,
biological information, geographical information, historical
information, linguistics, and oral tradition.
Determinations
Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian
organizations, the OSA-BP has determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of 51 individuals of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> The 91 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 Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma and
the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation, North
Dakota.
Requests for Repatriation
Written requests for repatriation of the human remains and
associated funerary objects in this notice must be sent to the
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 March 27, 2024. If
competing requests for repatriation are received, the Office of the
State Archaeologist Bioarchaeology Program 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 Office of
the State Archaeologist Bioarchaeology Program is responsible for
sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian
organizations identified in this notice.
This notice was submitted before the effective date of the revised
regulations (88 FR 86452, December 13, 2023, effective January 12,
2024). As the notice conforms to the mandatory format of the Federal
Register and includes the required information, the National Park
Service is publishing this notice as submitted.
Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act,
25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.10.
Dated: February 16, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-03795 Filed 2-23-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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