Notice2026-03567
Notice of Inventory Completion: Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Division of Archaeology, Nashville, TN
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
February 23, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of Archaeology (TDEC-DOA) has completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects from site 40MT43, Montgomery County, TN, 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 35 (Monday, February 23, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 35 (Monday, February 23, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Page 8516]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-03567]
[[Page 8516]]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[N6943; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0042050; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: Tennessee Department of
Environment and Conservation Division of Archaeology, Nashville, TN
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 Tennessee Department of Environment and
Conservation, Division of Archaeology (TDEC-DOA) has completed an
inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects from site
40MT43, Montgomery County, TN, 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 25, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Send written requests for repatriation of the human remains
and associated funerary objects in this notice to Phillip R. Hodge,
Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of
Archaeology (TDEC-DOA), 1216 Foster Avenue, Cole Building #3,
Nashville, TN 37243, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#104078797c3e587f74777550647e3e777f66"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c292aaabaeec8aada6a5a782b6aceca5adb4">[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
TDEC-DOA, 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, three individuals have been
identified. The 1,581 associated funerary objects are described below.
40MT43, Montgomery County, TN
The materials described in this notice were excavated from 40MT43
(Dunbar Cave) by TDEC-DOA staff in 1977 and 1978. Those excavations
recovered temporally diagnostic artifacts dating to the Late
Paleoindian, Archaic, Woodland, and Mississippian archaeological
periods, as well as Euro-American use of the cave. Human remains
representing, at least, three individuals were removed during the 1977-
1978 excavations. Additional test excavations were conducted by faculty
from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 2007-2008.
At the request of consulting Tribal Nations, the TDEC-DOA attempted
to inventory the 40MT43 collection for the purposes of identifying any
as-yet unidentified human remains and/or Cultural Items. Upon
inventory, it was apparent that fragmentary human remains were
ubiquitous in the collection and, due to the complexity of the cave's
stratification and that improper excavation methods were employed, the
context and association of the site is compromised and cannot be
remedied. It was subsequently determined in consultation to treat the
entire collection as a mortuary context. The TDEC-DOA completed the
inventory, but only at the box level with the goal of assigning lot
numbers to each bag of pre-contact material according to general
artifact type. As a result of this process the associated funerary
objects included in this notice include 1,581 lots of artifacts
consisting of: 733 lots of lithic artifacts; 177 lots of ceramic
artifacts; 444 lots of faunal remains; 110 lots of botanical material;
25 lots of carbon samples; and 92 lots of unsorted pre-contact
artifacts. There is no known exposure to hazardous substances or
treatments.
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 TDEC-DOA has determined that:
<bullet> The human remains described in this notice represent the
physical remains of at least three individuals of Native American
ancestry.
<bullet> The 1,581 lots of artifacts 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 the Absentee-
Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma; Cherokee Nation; Eastern Band of
Cherokee Indians; Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma; Shawnee Tribe; The
Muscogee (Creek) Nation; The Osage Nation; and the United Keetoowah
Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma.
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 25,
2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the TDEC-DOA
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 TDEC-DOA 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. 2026-03567 Filed 2-20-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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