Notice2025-04357
Notice of Inventory Completion: The Alfred W. Bowers Laboratory of Anthropology, The University of Idaho, Moscow, ID
Primary source
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Published
March 18, 2025
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Alfred W. Bowers Laboratory of Anthropology, The University of Idaho has completed an inventory of human remains and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 51 (Tuesday, March 18, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 51 (Tuesday, March 18, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12557-12558]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-04357]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0039466; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: The Alfred W. Bowers Laboratory
of Anthropology, The University of Idaho, Moscow, ID
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 Alfred W. Bowers Laboratory of
Anthropology, The University of Idaho has completed an inventory of
human remains and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation
between the human remains and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian
organizations in this notice.
DATES: Repatriation of the human remains in this notice may occur on or
after April 17, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Emily Hull, Alfred W. Bowers Laboratory of Anthropology, The
University of Idaho, 875 Perimeter Drive MS 4023, Moscow, ID 83844-
4023, telephone (509) 336-5868, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#cca9a1a5a0b5a4b9a0a08cb9a5a8ada4a3e2a9a8b9"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3b5e56525742534e57577b4e525f5a5354155e5f4e">[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
Alfred W. Bowers Laboratory of Anthropology, The University of Idaho,
and additional information on the determinations in this notice,
including the results of consultation, can be found in its inventory or
related records. The National Park Service is not responsible for the
determinations in this notice.
Abstract of Information Available
A number of ancestral remains from California were found at the
University of Idaho in 2024 associated with the archaeologist and
osteologist Grover S. Krantz. Many of the remains were gathered in
concert with A.B. Elsasser and Jack Smith, both of California. Krantz
integrated these remains into his osteological collection at UC
Berkeley. It is presumed that they were brought by Krantz to Washington
State University in 1968, when he assumed a faculty position. It is
unknown how or why the remains were transferred to the University of
Idaho, however, there has been a historically close relationship
between the two universities due to physical proximity, and other
exchanges have been documented. We believe that these remains were used
as part of the former Human Osteology Collection housed in the
Department of Anthropology. At an unknown time, the remains were
removed, given new catalogue numbers, and moved to a secure location in
the Alfred W. Bowers Laboratory of Anthropology. These remains were re-
discovered in 2024.
CCo-19, GSK Individual 7-8
In 1955, ancestral remains representing one individual were removed
from site Ca-CCo-19 in Concord, CA. The remains were removed as part of
a salvage operation when burials were disturbed by construction at the
site. This site was originally known as ``Read's Site'' after Walter
Read, the man who reported the site's location. The construction
development uncovered several burials, which were reported to the UCAS
by a Mr. C.K. Sapper of East Contra Costa College on 10/9/1956, and a
salvage excavation was afterwards undertaken by Arnold Pilling and J.
Bennyhoff. Bennyhoff's notes state that Pilling and Bennyhoff found
three mortuary features and ancestral remains already extremely damaged
by the construction. They report the discovery of an additional five
burial sites, though no remains were taken from these burials. They
noted that almost all burials were oriented facing north, with one
facing NW. The associated artifacts were reported as ``two small
obsidian flakes, a chert flake, and two pieces of fractured deer
antler.'' The location of these funerary belongings is unknown.
Additionally, a small pestle was found which was, according to the
records, transferred to an unknown unit at University of California,
Berkeley. The files were signed by A.B. Elsasser, who is noted in
Grover S. Krantz's notes as a common source of human remains for his
collection at UC Berkeley. (Bennyhoff's original report is available
upon request; it has not been included with this report, as there are
rudimentary drawings of the mortuary features and remains in the
report.) As of Dec 2024, we have determined that the remains of at
least one individual are attributed to CCo-19, based on Krantz's
original notes and research of the site. Primary documents from Krantz
are sparse and without detail, however, we believe that there is enough
evidence to clearly link them to Contra Costa County and specifically
with site CCo-19.
CCo-2, GSK Individual 118
These ancestral remains belong to a single individual who was
exhumed at an unknown time and place but were listed as given to Grover
Krantz by A.B. Elsasser on July 20, 1961, in Contra Costa County, with
the site listed as CCo-2. The notes by Krantz and Elsasser list the
individual as ``Male Amerind,'' but there are no other details of his
identity, provenance, or circumstances. Like the previously listed
ancestors, these remains are assumed to have been brought by Krantz to
Washington State University in 1968, and then, at an unknown time, were
moved to the University of Idaho. They were found in the same box as
the remains from CCo-19 in October of 2024. The ancestral remains are
now housed in a secure area
[[Page 12558]]
accessible only to the collections manager. As the site is listed in
Contra Costa County, we believe that this is enough evidence to link
this individual to this geographical location.
Alameda County
GSK Individual 10
In Spring of 1955, ancestral remains representing a minimum of one
individual were found by a Berkeley, CA coroner. The coroner, whose
name is unknown, found the remains in his office upon the assumption of
his position. The remains were transferred to A.B. Elsasser and then to
G. S. Krantz, who moved these remains to Washington State University in
1968. At an unknown time, these ancestral remains were transferred to
the University of Idaho. They were re-discovered during an inventory
performed by the collections manager of the Alfred W. Bowers Laboratory
of Anthropology at the University of Idaho in 2024. The notes of G.S.
Krantz provide evidence that these ancestral remains were initially
gathered in Berkeley, CA by Elsasser. We believe that enough evidence
exists to make a geographic connection between these remains and
Alameda County, CA.
Cultural Affiliation
Based on the information available and the results of consultation,
cultural affiliation is reasonably identified by the geographical
location or acquisition history of the human remains described in this
notice.
Determinations
The Alfred W. Bowers Laboratory of Anthropology, The University of
Idaho has determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of three individuals of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> There is a connection between the human remains described
in this notice and the Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians of
California; Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians of California;
Guidiville Rancheria of California; Ione Band of Miwok Indians of
California; Jackson Band of Miwuk Indians; Tule River Indian Tribe of
the Tule River Reservation, California; and the Wilton Rancheria,
California.
Requests for Repatriation
Written requests for repatriation of the human remains in this
notice must be sent to the authorized representative identified in this
notice under 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 an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization with
cultural affiliation.
Repatriation of the human remains described in this notice to a
requestor may occur on or after April 17, 2025. If competing requests
for repatriation are received, the Alfred W. Bowers Laboratory of
Anthropology, The University of Idaho must determine the most
appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint
repatriation of the human remains are considered a single request and
not competing requests. The Alfred W. Bowers Laboratory of
Anthropology, The University of Idaho is responsible for sending a copy
of this notice to the Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations
identified in this notice.
Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act,
25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.10.
Dated: February 4, 2025.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2025-04357 Filed 3-17-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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