Notice2026-03223
Notice of Inventory Completion: University of Florida, Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, FL
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Published
February 19, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the University of Florida, Florida Museum of Natural History (FLMNH) 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.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 33 (Thursday, February 19, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 33 (Thursday, February 19, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8020-8022]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-03223]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6904; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0042034; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: University of Florida, Florida
Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, FL
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 University of Florida, Florida Museum of
Natural History (FLMNH) 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.
DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary
objects in this notice may occur on or after March 23, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send written requests for repatriation of the human remains
and associated funerary objects in this notice to David Blackburn,
University of Florida, Florida Museum of Natural History, 1659 Museum
Road, Gainesville, FL 32611, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#cb85aaacbbb9aa84adada2a8ae8bada7a4b9a2afaaa6beb8aebea6e5beada7e5aeafbe"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="551b34322527341a33333c36301533393a273c31343820263020387b2033397b303120">[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
FLMNH 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
Human remains representing at least a total of 416 individuals have
been identified from 24 sites across Citrus, Pinellas, Volusia,
Highland, Hardee, Indian River, Pasco, Hernando, Polk, and Manatee
Counties in Florida. The combined 21,895 objects, includes 21,855
individual catalogs, 13 thin sections, 10 bags, one box, and 14 lots of
associated funerary objects consisting of beads, shell, mica, lithics,
pottery fragments, fauna, plant material, charcoal, and concretions.
Caladesi Island/Hog Island 8PI9: Human remains representing at
least one individual has been identified. There are no associated
funerary objects. The site, also known as Hog Island, includes a burial
mound located in mangroves east of the island. The accession (Acc.
4633) from this site was collected during a joint expedition with the
Florida State Museum, Florida Board of Parks and Historic Memorials,
and the Safety Harbor Area Historical Society on August 4, 1968. They
were collected from the spoil of the burial mound. On August 1, 2002,
part of this accession (Cat no. 104035) was repatriated to the
Miccosukee Tribe.
Tierra Verde Mound 8PI51: Human remains representing at least 78
individuals have been identified. The 6,548 associated funerary objects
include pottery, shell, thin sections of pottery, and fauna. The site,
also known as Cabbage Key Mound, is a large burial mound in Cabbage
Key, a small island in the Tampa Bay Area. Collections at the FLMNH
originate from donations and a museum expedition led by William Sears.
Sears (1966) believed that the numerous burials (concentrated on the
eastern portion of the site) were associated with ceremonial pottery
and pottery sherds (page 30 & 65).
Cockroach Key 8HI2: Human remains representing at least two
individuals have been identified. The 19 associated funerary objects
include pottery fragments. The site is a small island on the eastern
shore of Tampa Bay. The site was made entirely of shells and midden
deposits. There are burials from two areas, an oval burial mound and a
level area southeast of the mound. The FLMNH houses accessions from
this site that were transferred from the Florida Park Service and the
Florida State Geological Survey.
Davis Burial Mound 8HR1: Human remains representing at least one
individual has been identified. The 12 associated funerary objects
include pottery, lithics, fauna, and shells. The site is 12 miles east-
southeast of Zolfo Springs town. Ripley P. Bullen and John Taylor, from
the Florida State Museum, performed excavations under a museum
expedition before the mound was bulldozed and turned into an orange
grove. According to Bullen (1954), the mound was already partially
bulldozed by the time Bullen and Taylor arrived. Bullen states that
they discovered 12 burials, the majority of which were bundle burials
and one cremation.
Peace River/Zolfo Springs site 8HRxxxx: Human remains representing
at least one individual has been identified. There are no associated
funerary objects. The site is located in Hardee County. The collection
from this area, housed in the FLMNH, was found by Eric Kendrew two
miles down Peace River from the town of Zolfo Springs. Kendrew donated
this collection to the FLMNH Vertebrate Paleontology (VP) department.
Later, the VP department transferred the collection to the FLMNH
Environmental Archaeology department. Little is known about the precise
location and provenience of this collection from this site.
Republic Groves site 8HR4: Human remains representing at least
three individuals have been identified. The 17 associated funerary
objects include fauna. The site is located six miles southeast of Zolfo
Springs town. The site was a Late Archaic period cemetery discovered in
1968 after a bulldozer and dragline operation uncovered the cemetery,
according to Wharton et al. (1981). Wharton et al. also states how the
site includes two elements, the cemetery and a habitation zone.
According to FLMNH records, Mitchell E. Hope, coauthor with Wharton,
performed salvage excavations on the site, beginning in 1968. The
collections from this site were originally housed by Hope, and then Dr.
Audry Sublet of the Florida Atlantic University (FAU) requested the
collections, including skeletal materials, to be housed at FAU for
future graduate studies. In 1988, Hope requested the skeletal materials
be donated to the FLMNH; the donation finally occurred in 1993.
Hudson Burial Mound 8PAxxxx: Human remains representing at least
three individuals have been identified. The 158 associated funerary
objects include pottery fragments. The site is located near Aripeka in
Pasco County, Florida. The mound was found off US 19 going north and is
possibly identified as Reedy Site (8PA214). The FLMNH houses
collections from this site that were donated by Albert C. Goodyear III
[[Page 8021]]
(from the Department of Anthropology of the University of Arkansas) on
June 28, 1969.
Hope Mound 8PA12: Human remains representing at least nine
individuals have been identified. The 2,018 associated funerary objects
include shell, pottery, lithics, metal, and beads. The site is a
prehistoric burial mound on the edge of a larger shell midden on the
south bank of the Anclote River. The site was excavated in 1896 by
Frank H. Cushing's. Artifacts were stored in the Bureau of American
Ethnology Institute (Smithsonian Institution) before they were moved to
the University Museum, University of Pennsylvania. In 1957, most of the
collection was sent to John M. Goggin with the University of Florida.
After Goggins death in 1963, they were transferred to the FLMNH.
Weeki Wachee 8HE0012: Human remains representing at least 107
individuals have been identified. There are 1,805 associated funerary
objects including beads, shells, lithics, pottery, rubber, plants,
glass, and metal. The site is located on the grounds of Weeki Wachee
Springs Attraction, about 200 yards downstream from the main spring and
75 yards from the river itself. This site is a small mound,
approximately 40ft E/W, 30ft N/S, and 2ft high. Three canoes were found
in 1954 by Andrew Moody and when he alerted the FSM of his findings an
excavation was undertaken by Robert Allen, Pete Cook, and Tom Allen on
6/21/70.
Terra Ceia Island 8MAxxxx: Human remains representing at least one
individual has been identified. There are no associated funerary
objects. The site is on an island in Tampa Bay and is possibly
associated with one of the two burial mounds (Johnson Mound and Prine
Mound (8MA83C)), a ceremonial mound (Bickel Mound (8MA83B)), and a
large shell midden (Abel Midden (8MA83A) in the area. This site was
excavated by Ripley P. Bullen in the early 1950s when Bullen was an
Assistant Archaeologist for the Florida Park Service (FPS). Most
collections housed at the FLMNH were loaned (and eventually
transferred) from the FPS in 1954. The FLMNH also houses collections
that were transferred from the University of Florida Anthropology
Department. The Terra Ceia Site, according to Bullen, was occupied for
800 years. It included a small village on Abel Shell Midden along with
two burial mounds that were connected by walkways between the shell
middens and the mounds. The site also contained a ceremonial mound near
one of the burial mounds (Prine Mound).
Tomoka State Park 8Voxxxx: Human remains representing at least
three individuals have been identified. The four associated funerary
objects include unidentified fauna. The exact location of the site is
unknown, but it is believed that the Ancestor and associated artifacts
came from the area that is not the parking lot. The site was on long
term loan to the Museum, then was officially transferred to FLMNH from
the Florida Park Service in 2025.
Goods Mound/Alderman/Raulerson 8VO0135: Human remains representing
at least four individuals have been identified. There are no associated
funerary objects. The site is located on the right shoreline of Harney
Lake in a grove of cabbage in Volusia County. At the time the land was
owned by Mr. Morgan Alderman. The site is described as a refuse deposit
containing Spanish and Indian artifacts that are not curated by FLMNH.
The Ancestors were presented to FLMNH by James Gut, n.d.
Blue Springs Mound 8VO0041: Human remains representing at least one
individual has been identified. There are no associated funerary
objects. The site is Blue Springs and is a large snail and mussel
midden that encompasses roughly 1\1/2\ acres. A great deal of vandalism
has occurred at the site.
Herman Zapps Place/Quay 8IRxxxx: Human remains representing at
least four individuals have been identified. There are no associated
funerary objects. The Ancestors housed in the FLMNH were transferred in
1979 from the Vertebrate Paleontology Department to the Anthropology
Department within the Museum. The origins of these collections stem
from Florida Geological Survey excavations led by E. H. Sellard from
1913-1916. The exact locality of the site is unknown but is it noted to
be near Quay and Winter Beach.
Phillip Mound 8PO446: Human remains representing at least one
individual has been identified. The 181 associated funerary objects
include pottery and shell. The site is on the east side of Lake Marion
south of the Boy Scout Camp. A fishing camp at the site with a house on
top of the ``midden mound'' adjacent to the lake has been described in
reports as of 1977. The burial mound, which was located a very short
distance south and east of the ``midden mound'' had been completely dug
over although the shrub oak-covered ramps were mostly intact. Benson's
1967 report indicates that much of the mound had been dug in already by
the mid-1960s. According to Karklin's 1974 report, the mound had been
destroyed completely by the early 1970s. The collections were donated
to FLMNH by Karlis Karlins in 1988.
Bay Pines 8PI0064: Human remains representing at least 33
individuals have been identified. The 328 associated funerary objects
include pottery, lithics, charcoal, shell, fauna, and antler. The Bay
Pines site is located on Bay Pines Blvd. North at the Bay Pines
Veteran's Hospital. It is a shell midden that is comprised of four
distinct units. They are a linear shell ridge, a small, and a linear
shell deposit. This site was first explored by S.T. Walker in 1880, and
excavations were done by Gallagher and Warren in 1972. Tests were done
by Swindell in 1975 and Gagel in 1976. The mound under the Nursing Home
contained 20-30 burials and is likely where the Ancestors housed at
FLMNH were removed from. The collection was presented by Dr. Lyman O.
Warren of St. Petersburg, FL in 1975.
Van Fossen 8CI0194: Human remains representing at least one
individual has been identified. The 1,309 associated funerary objects
include shells, pottery, lithics, and fauna. The Van Fossen site is
located on the west bank of the Withlacoochee River in the community of
Stokes Ferry. The site was first recorded by Brent Weisman in 1983. At
that time, it consisted of a shell midden and a burial mound. Weisman
noted that the site had been badly damaged by looting and development.
In 2005, Charles E. Pearson revisited the site while conducting a
resource investigation of the Withlacoochee Basin for the Army Corps of
Engineers. By this time the site had been severely damaged or destroyed
by development. The collection was transferred to FLMNH from the
Florida Park Service.
Askew Site 8CI0046: Human remains representing at least five
individuals have been identified. The 467 objects and 14 lots of
associated funerary objects include fauna, lithic, pottery and shell.
The site is reported as a prehistoric midden dating to 1000 to 700 BC.
The FMSF records state that today the site is currently completely
covered by cottages. The site was donated to FLMNH over a series of
donations and museum expeditions between 1963 and 1971 from Walter
Askew (1964 and 1969) and Albert Goodyear III (1969 and 1971).
Burtine Island 8CI0061: Human remains representing at least one
individual has been identified. The 981 individual objects, 10 bags,
and two boxes of associated funerary objects include shell, fauna,
pottery, lithics, a lighting whelk, and a bone pin. The site is located
approximately \1/2\ mile west of the mouth of Richardson Creek and the
Cross Florida Barge Canal. It is located on the northwest corner of the
island facing west toward the Gulf of Mexico.
[[Page 8022]]
In 1965, Ripley P. Bullen carried out excavations on the island prior
to the deposition of dredge spoil from the barge canal. The site was to
be destroyed by dredge in late 1965. He collected over 3000 artifacts
and encountered a deposit of disarticulated human remains.
Crystal River 8CI0001: Human remains representing at least 142
individuals have been identified from two mounds at the site (Mound G
MNI=59; Main Complex MNI=83). The 7,589 catalogs, 13 thin sections, and
one box of associated funerary objects include fauna, shells, pottery,
charcoal, lithic, and plant material. The site is located four miles
east of the Gulf of Mexico on the north bank of the Crystal River. The
site consists of a ``complex'' of shell and sand works including two
flat-topped pyramid mounds with ascending ramps, two stone stelae, two
burial mounds, and a large midden. C.B. Moore conducted the first
excavations at Crystal River beginning in 1903. By the end of his third
visit in 1918, he recovered the remains of at least 429 individuals.
Subsequent investigations were limited until Ripley P. Bullen began
extensive excavations between 1951 to 1960. Based on this work, Bullen
concluded that the site was occupied and constructed during three
periods: Santa-Rosa Swift Creek, Weeden Island, and late Weeden Island
or Safety Harbor.
Homosassa Site 8CIxxxx: Human remains representing, at least five
individuals have been identified. The 409 associated funerary objects
include pottery. The site was surface collected from islands in Gulf of
Mexico near mouths of Little Homosassa and St. Martin rivers by George
and David Cantlin. The collection was donated to FLMNH in 1964 by
Georga and David Canlin.
Mullet Key 8CI0022: Human remains representing at least one
individual has been identified. The one associated funerary object is a
pottery fragment. The site is on an island within the St. Martins Marsh
Aquatic Preserve/Crystal River State Buffer Preserve in Citrus County.
It is the furthest island out into the Gulf in the preserve. The
collection was presented to FLMNH by Mrs. Cathy Patrick, n.d.
Starke Site 8CI0089: Human remains representing at least two
individuals have been identified. The nine associated funerary include
pottery fragments. The site is a shell midden located on the
southeastern tip of the northern portion of Shell Island and is
described as badly eroded. The Ancestors were presented to the Florida
Museum in 1973 by Wallace Starke.
Casey Key/Synder Site 8SO17: Human remains representing, at least,
seven individuals have been identified from the in Sarasota County,
Florida. There are no new AFOs to report in this notice. This burial
mound and accompanying shell ridge were located along the water's edge.
Ripley P. Bullen and Adelaide K. Bullen visited the site in 1959,
learning that the site had been looted by school students in the 1940s.
In 1985 Marquardt again assessed the sites history while conducting
archaeological reconnaissance on Casey Key, Sarasota, Florida. The site
came to the FLMNH through various accessions (Acc. 3923, 3942, 76-70,
71-51, 2000-4, 2002-63) between 1954 and 2003. An additional 13
individuals were reported in a Notice of Inventory Completion published
in the Federal Register on May 8, 2025 (90 FR 19527) making a total of
20 Ancestors and 80 associated funerary objects present at FLMNH.
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 and associated
funerary objects described in this notice.
Determinations
The FLMNH has determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of 416 individuals of Native American ancestry.
<bullet> The 21,895 objects described in this notice are reasonably
believed to have been placed intentionally 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 connection between the human remains and
associated funerary objects described in this notice and Miccosukee
Tribe of Indians and the Seminole Tribe of Florida.
Requests for Repatriation
Written requests for repatriation of the human remains and
associated funerary objects 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 and associated funerary objects
described in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after March 23,
2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the FLMNH
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 FLMNH 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 13, 2026.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2026-03223 Filed 2-18-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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