[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 93 (Friday, May 13, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28068-28071]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-11812]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
[2253-665]
National Park Service
Notice of Inventory Completion: Utah State University/College of
Eastern Utah Prehistoric Museum, Price, UT
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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[[Page 28069]]
Notice is here given in accordance with the Native American Graves
Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25 U.S.C. 3003, of the
completion of an inventory of human remains and associated funerary
objects under the control of the Utah State University/College of
Eastern Utah Prehistoric Museum, Price, UT. The human remains and
associated funerary objects were removed from Carbon, Emery, Grand, and
San Juan Counties, UT.
This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's
administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA, 25 U.S.C. 3003(d)(3). The
determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of the
museum, institution, or Federal agency that has control of the Native
American human remains and associated funerary objects. The National
Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.
A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by the
Prehistoric Museum professional staff in consultation with
representatives of the Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation,
Nevada and Utah; Duckwater Shoshone Tribe of the Duckwater Reservation,
Nevada; Ely Shoshone Tribe of Nevada; Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Kaibab
Band of Paiute Indians of the Kaibab Indian Reservation, Arizona; Kewa
Pueblo, New Mexico (formerly the Pueblo of Santo Domingo); Moapa Band
of Paiute Indians of the Moapa River Indian Reservation, Nevada; Navajo
Nation, Arizona, New Mexico & Utah; Northwestern Band of Shoshoni
Nation of Utah (Washakie); Ohkay Owingeh, New Mexico (formerly the
Pueblo of San Juan); Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah (Cedar Band of
Paiutes, Kanosh Band of Paiutes, Koosharem Band of Paiutes, Indian
Peaks Band of Paiutes, and Shivwits Band of Paiutes); Paiute-Shoshone
Tribe of the Fallon Reservation and Colony, Nevada; Pueblo of Acoma,
New Mexico; Pueblo of Cochiti, New Mexico; Pueblo of Jemez, New Mexico;
Pueblo of Isleta, New Mexico; Pueblo of Laguna, New Mexico; Pueblo of
Nambe, New Mexico; Pueblo of Picuris, New Mexico; Pueblo of Pojoaque,
New Mexico; Pueblo of San Felipe, New Mexico; Pueblo of San Ildefonso,
New Mexico; Pueblo of Sandia, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa Ana, New
Mexico; Pueblo of Santa Clara, New Mexico; Pueblo of Taos, New Mexico;
Pueblo of Tesuque, New Mexico; Pueblo of Zia, New Mexico; San Juan
Southern Paiute Tribe of Arizona; Shoshone Tribe of the Wind River
Reservation, Wyoming; Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall
Reservation of Idaho; Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley
Reservation, Nevada; Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians of Utah;
Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the Southern Ute Reservation, Colorado;
Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians of Nevada (Four constituent
bands: Battle Mountain Band; Elko Band; South Fork Band and Wells
Band); Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah & Ouray Reservation, Utah; Ute
Mountain Tribe of the Ute Mountain Reservation, Colorado, New Mexico &
Utah; Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo of Texas; and the Zuni Tribe of the Zuni
Reservation, New Mexico (hereinafter referred to as ``The Tribes'').
In 1956, human remains representing a minimum of one individual
were removed by a rancher from an unrecorded site on his private land
in Nine Mile Canyon, Carbon County, UT. The remains were transferred to
the Prehistoric Museum (formerly the Price City Museum) in 1961. No
known individual was identified. The five associated funerary objects
are one lot of sewn leather clothing, one knotted/woven juniper bark
blanket enclosing shredded juniper bark (for padding) and several plant
remains, one lot of thick cordage with the remains of rabbit-fur
strips, one knotted/plaited juniper bark cradle with leather hood and
willow or sumac frame, and one woven reed-grass/phragmites blanket with
cordage ties.
In 1950, human remains representing a minimum of one individual
were removed from an unrecorded site on private land called ``Scarps
Ranch'' near Indian Creek, in Grand or San Juan County, UT. The remains
were transferred to the Prehistoric Museum in 1961. No known individual
was identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
In 1954, human remains representing a minimum of one individual, an
infant, were removed from an unrecorded site on private property in
Nine Mile Canyon, Carbon County, UT, by a rancher. The remains were
transferred to the Prehistoric Museum in 1961. No known individual was
identified. The seven associated funerary objects are an animal skin/
fur wrapped around the infant, one bundle of grasses, maize leaves/
husks, miscellaneous plant remains and shredded juniper bark (for
padding), one bent, knotted willow/sumac stick cradle frame, one bundle
of sticks, and three pieces of leather (used to strap the wrapped
infant to the stick cradle frame).
In the 1960s, human remains representing a minimum of one
individual were removed from an unknown and unrecorded site in the
Green River corridor, probably in Emery County, UT. The remains were
given to the Prehistoric Museum in the 1960s. No known individual was
identified. The three associated funerary objects are a sewn leather
moccasin/sandal fragment, cordage, and shredded juniper bark padding
from the burial.
Around 1969 to 1971, human remains representing a minimum of six
individuals were accidentally discovered during the construction of the
Millsite Reservoir near Ferron, in Emery County, UT. The remains were
transferred from the Emery County Sheriff to the Prehistoric Museum
circa 1980. No known individuals were identified. The 23 artifacts
accompanying the transferred human remains are 3 small basketry
fragments, 2 maize cobs, 3 small pieces of cordage, 1 large twist/cache
of dogbane fiber, 2 large pine cones, 1 bear claw, 1 bone awl, 1 deer
scapula, 2 complete bighorn sheep horns, 1 debitage flake, 1 large D-
shaped biface fragment, 1 small animal bone, 1 juvenile animal long
bone, 1 lot of several small rodent bones, 1 human coprolite, and an
owl pellet.
The individuals described above appear be associated with the
prehistoric Native American culture that archeologists have named
Fremont.
Between 1989 and 1993, human remains representing a minimum of one
individual were removed from ``Frank's Place,'' site 42Cb770, reported
to be located on private land in Carbon County, UT, by Brigham Young
University as part of a legal excavation. The remains were transferred
to and accessioned by the Prehistoric Museum in 1995. No known
individual was identified. Two artifacts recovered from the burial cist
were accessioned with the burial.
Brigham Young University excavators also reported three other
artifacts from the cist containing the burial, but were not sure if
they were funerary objects, and did not transfer them to the
Prehistoric Museum. The associated funerary objects are two small
pieces of chipped stone.
The remains from site 42Cb770 were excavated by Brigham Young
University archeologists from inside a slab-lined cist in the floor of
a Fremont pithouse located on a natural bench above the floodplain in
Nine Mile Canyon, and the ribs from the child were transferred for
analyses. The burial has been radiocarbon dated to circa A.D. 1150,
consistent with the Fremont culture in Nine Mile Canyon and eastern
Utah, thus suggesting its affiliation with the prehistoric Native
American culture that archeologists have named Fremont.
At an unknown date, possibly between 1959 and 1983, human remains
[[Page 28070]]
representing a minimum of three individuals were removed from unknown
sites on private land along the Green River corridor near Green River,
probably in Emery or Grand County, UT. These remains were given to the
Prehistoric Museum by the landowner circa 1983. No known individuals
were identified. A box of associated cultural objects was given to the
museum by the same individual and reported to be from the same
location. One of the donated items, a turkey-feather blanket, was
listed as a ``woven burial mat,'' and so the transferred objects are
presumed to be associated funerary objects. The 33 associated funerary
objects are 2 small black-on-white bowls, 1 small corrugated, partially
reconstructed jar, 1 Mesa Verde black-on-white mug, 1 reconstructed
Ivie Creek black-on-white bowl, 1 reconstructed Tusayan bowl fragment,
6 bags of potshcrds (including mostly Fremont grayware but also many
decorated Fremont and Anasazi types), 1 tied grass hairbrush, 1
fingerprint in mud/adobe, 1 willow or dogbane knot/cache, 1 turkey-
feather blanket, 5 lithic tools, 1 bag of bark fragments, 1 small
turkey-feather blanket cordage fragment, 1 piece of charcoal, 5 maize
cobs, 2 horn fragments, 1 piece of calcite, and an acorn.
These individuals described above appear to be affiliated with
either Ancestral Pueblo/Hisatsinom/Anasazi or Fremont prehistoric
cultures.
From approximately 1972 to 1977, following a flash flood, human
remains representing a minimum of two individuals were removed from
Comb Wash at T37 S, R 20E, Sec 24, at or near the intersection of Comb
Wash and Arch Canyon, in San Juan County, UT, by a private individual.
The remains were given to the Prehistoric Museum in 1997. No known
individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects are
present.
Both of the above individuals are Native American males,
approximately 30-45 years of age. They both have extreme dental
attrition, including caries and excessive wear into both the enamel and
dentin, suggesting an association with the Formative period and a diet
rich in stone-ground maize. One cranium exhibits extreme occipital/
lambdoidal flattening and is very broad, whereas the other is narrow,
gracile and vaulted, sinodont, and possibly has some cranial
deformation though the occipital is missing. These remains are most
likely associated with the ancient Native American culture called
Hisatsinom or Anasazi.
Fremont archeological sites differ from contemporary and ancient
Puebloan sites in architectural features and material remains, and some
Fremont artifact types are unique with respect to other Southwestern,
Rocky Mountain or Great Basin material cultures (e.g., Barlow 1997,
2002, 2006). Overall, the constellation of material traits associated
with Fremont cultures does not appear to have a modern or ethnographic
correlate among living Native American peoples. Peoples of the ancient
Fremont culture also appear to have been physically and genetically
distinct from Native American people who today inhabit this region.
Morphologically, especially in cranial characteristics, Fremont remains
generally differ from contemporary Numic-speaking peoples, and also
usually lack the distinctive occipital flattening that is common, and
even characteristic, of their Puebloan counterparts. This difference is
generally attributed to cultural differences in the types of
cradleboards or infant carriers used by prehistoric peoples in this
region.
By contrast, some Fremont archeological sites in Utah have a strong
geographic overlap with later Numic cultures, thus these cultures may
be coincident with the latest Fremont occupation of this region. This
may be especially true of ethno-Historic Ute Tribes in eastern Utah and
possibly also including some Paiute and Shoshone bands and Tribes in
other parts of the Fremont culture region. Many areas and some sites
with prehistoric Fremont artifacts and rock art in this region have
overlapping ethno-Historic Ute or Nuch[eacute] components; sometimes
Ute rock art has been painted over earlier Fremont figures. Also Ute
tipi and wickiup sites, and some Ute game or pony drives are found in
eastern Utah.
Interpretations of DNA extracted from Fremont remains--albeit
mostly from Fremont remains in neighboring areas rather than eastern
Utah--suggest a possible genetic relationship between some ancient
Fremont people and some members of the Zuni Tribe (and perhaps other
modern Puebloan peoples), but do not suggest genetic affiliations with
modern Numic-speaking Tribes. Morphological attributes also suggest
that Numic peoples are not descended from Fremont peoples. It should
also be noted, however, that DNA studies conducted on Fremont remains
have yielded varied results and interpretations (e.g., at one time it
was suggested that some Fremont were distinctly different from
ancestral or modern Puebloans, although today they appear to be
related), that published comparisons do not include Hopi DNA, and that
recent analyses of the DNA of ancient Puebloan peoples and of
individuals from modern Pueblos suggest that the two groups are more
closely related to each other than to Fremont. It is not yet understood
what the DNA evidence means with respect to ancestor-descendant
relationships with modern Puebloan peoples, or whether this evidence
indicates intermarriage or social networks with Hisatsinom peoples in
the past. In addition, more work is needed for a rigorous scientific
assessment of the variability in DNA from different areas within the
larger Fremont culture region, which was home to at least five distinct
prehistoric Fremont peoples and cultures (e.g., the Great Salt Lake vs.
the Sevier vs. Parowan vs. Uintah vs. the San Rafael), and which may
reflect concomitant diversity in language, socio-political networks,
and possibly genetic affiliation. Nevertheless, it appears that the
closest living relatives of ancient Fremont peoples and cultures are
likely to be found among modern Pueblo peoples.
It should also be noted that in some areas of eastern Utah,
archeological sites sometimes include cultural traits from both ancient
Fremont and Hisatsinom/Anasazi/Ancestral Puebloan archeological
``cultures.'' Although the precise nature of the relationship is
unclear, archeological evidence from sites in this area, and genetic
evidence from Fremont remains, Hisatsinom remains, and modern Puebloan
people, indicate that people from these ancient cultures were involved
in social and economic relationships, and may share some common
ancestors and/or descendants. In fact, in this part of eastern Utah
artifacts from both cultures often are found at the same sites. It is
common to find some Hisatsinom pottery on Fremont sites in Carbon and
Emery Counties, particularly sites that postdate A.D. 1000. Often,
varieties of pottery from the Tusayan region are found suggesting
increasing economic and/or social networks with Hisatsinom neighbors
circa A.D. 1050-1270. In addition, a few human burials from this area,
although associated with Fremont sites, exhibit characteristics that
suggest Puebloan affiliation or ancestry. In summary, although the
Fremont culture of the San Rafael region likely originated from the
indigenous Archaic culture of the San Rafael, there is increasing
archeological evidence that those ancient people likely had social
links to contemporary prehistoric Hisatsinom/Anasazi peoples.
It should also be noted that Hopi Elders have consulted with the
Prehistoric Museum about a Hopi cultural/oral tradition that some
Fremont people may be ancestral to
[[Page 28071]]
several of the northern Hopi Clans, and a belief that some Fremont
people joined with Hopi in the Ancestral Tutsqua homeland relatively
late in the Prehistoric period, and became part of the Hopi. Hopi
elders have also identified similarities between some rock art images
in this region and modern Hopi symbols and cultural traditions. These
similarities suggest possible movements of ancestral Hopi, and may
correlate with Hopi oral traditions about clans completing sacred
migrations during the Formative period prior to settling on the Hopi
mesas, and/or pilgrimage of some Hopi to ancestral sites in the Fremont
region during the late Prehistoric or early ethno-Historic periods.
With respect to prehistoric Hisatsinom/Anasazi human remains, there
appears to be cultural continuity between ancient and modern Puebloan
cultures in the American Southwest, with a high degree of overlap in
both genetic affiliations and archeological attributes, including some
artifacts and architectural features. There is increasing evidence from
DNA studies supporting genetic relationships between some prehistoric
Hisatsinom or Anasazi individuals and modern Zuni, and perhaps other
Puebloan peoples. There is also accumulating evidence that some Navajo
or Din[eacute] may share some material traits with Pueblo cultures, and
may have ties to some ancient Puebloan peoples, but it is not
reasonable to assume cultural affiliation with the Navajo or
Din[eacute] at this time, as the latter apparently did not arrive in
the Southwest until several hundred years after the deposition of these
human remains.
Officials of the Prehistoric Museum have determined, pursuant to 25
U.S.C. 3001(9), that the human remains described above represent the
physical remains of 16 individuals of Native American ancestry.
Officials of the Prehistoric Museum have also determined, pursuant to
25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), that the 73 objects described above 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. Lastly, officials of the Prehistoric Museum have determined,
pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), that there is a relationship of shared
group identity that can be reasonably traced between the Native
American human remains and associated funerary objects and the Hopi
Tribe of Arizona; Kewa Pueblo, New Mexico; Ohkay Owingeh, New Mexico;
Pueblo of Acoma, New Mexico; Pueblo of Cochiti, New Mexico; Pueblo of
Jemez, New Mexico; Pueblo of Isleta, New Mexico; Pueblo of Laguna, New
Mexico; Pueblo of Nambe, New Mexico; Pueblo of Picuris, New Mexico;
Pueblo of Pojoaque, New Mexico; Pueblo of San Felipe, New Mexico;
Pueblo of San Ildefonso, New Mexico; Pueblo of Sandia, New Mexico;
Pueblo of Santa Ana, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa Clara, New Mexico;
Pueblo of Taos, New Mexico; Pueblo of Tesuque, New Mexico; Pueblo of
Zia, New Mexico; Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo of Texas; and the Zuni Tribe of
the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico.
Representatives of any other Indian Tribe that believes itself to
be culturally affiliated with the human remains and/or associated
funerary objects should contact K. Renee Barlow, USU/CEU Prehistoric
Museum, 150 East Main St., Price, UT 84501, telephone (435) 613-5290,
before June 13, 2011. Repatriation of the human remains and associated
funerary objects to the Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Kewa Pueblo, New Mexico;
Ohkay Owingeh, New Mexico; Pueblo of Acoma, New Mexico; Pueblo of
Cochiti, New Mexico; Pueblo of Jemez, New Mexico; Pueblo of Isleta, New
Mexico; Pueblo of Laguna, New Mexico; Pueblo of Nambe, New Mexico;
Pueblo of Picuris, New Mexico; Pueblo of Pojoaque, New Mexico; Pueblo
of San Felipe, New Mexico; Pueblo of San Ildefonso, New Mexico; Pueblo
of Sandia, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa Ana, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa
Clara, New Mexico; Pueblo of Taos, New Mexico; Pueblo of Tesuque, New
Mexico; Pueblo of Zia, New Mexico; Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo of Texas; and
the Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico, may proceed after
that date if no additional claimants come forward.
The Prehistoric Museum is responsible for notifying The Tribes that
this notice has been published.
Dated: May 9, 2011.
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2011-11812 Filed 5-12-11; 8:45 am]
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