[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 194 (Friday, October 5, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51064-51065]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-24965]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Intent to Repatriate Cultural Items in the Possession 
of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, 
Cambridge, MA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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    Notice is hereby given in accordance with provisions of the Native 
American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 43 CFR 
10.10(a)(3), of the intent to repatriate cultural items in the 
possession of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard 
University, Cambridge, MA, that meet the definition of ``unassociated 
funerary objects'' under Section 2 of the Act.
    This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's 
administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA, 43 CFR 10.2 (c). The 
determinations within this notice are the sole responsibility of the 
museum, institution, or Federal agency that has control of these 
cultural items. The National Park Service is not responsible for the 
determinations within this notice.
    The 624 cultural items are ceramic sherds and vessels; projectile 
points, flaked chert tools and debitage; gunflint; notched stone; shell 
objects; a bone awl and disc; drilled bear and beaver teeth; shell, 
glass, copper, and stone beads; a copper tinkler; a brass ring; metal 
ornaments; an iron axe; pendants; antler doll; red ochre; paint stones; 
and stone, wooden, and ceramic pipes.
    In 1879, 50 cultural items were donated to the Peabody Museum of 
Archaeology and Ethnology by Mr. Cowing and F. Larkin. The objects came 
from an unnamed mound in Cattaraugus County, NY, that was excavated in 
1819. The objects are ceramic sherds, projectile points, bifaces, and 
an iron axe.
    Museum records indicate that these objects were recovered from the 
site of a large mound, 20 feet high and 100 feet in diameter. The mound 
was located near the Allegheny River in western New York, ``40 rods 
above Indian Council Head.'' The site most likely dates to the Late 
Woodland and Contact periods (A.D. 1000-1700). The presence of iron and 
iron implements of probable European manufacture suggests a postcontact 
date (post-A.D. 1500). Other artifacts recovered from this site, 
including chert projectile points, support a Late Woodland and 
postcontact date. The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology does 
not have possession of the human remains from this site.
    In 1886, 100 cultural items were recovered from Union Spring, NY, 
and donated to the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology by W.W. 
Adams. The objects are perforated shell beads and tubular shell beads.
    Museum records indicate that these objects most likely came from 
the St. Joseph site in Union Springs. The site most likely dates to the 
Late Woodland period (A.D. 1000-1600) or later. Other artifacts 
recovered from the site, but not associated with burials, are 
stylistically indicative of the Late Woodland period. These objects 
include stone mortars and ceramics of typical Iroquoian designs. Copper 
staining on the human remains from the site suggests the use of a 
shroud pin and therefore an interment date during the Contact or 
Historic period (post-A.D. 1500). The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and 
Ethnology does not have possession of the human remains from this 
burial. The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology has possession 
of human remains from other burials at this site, which are reported in 
a Notice of Inventory Completion.
    In 1889, 102 cultural items were recovered in Avon, NY, by F.W. 
Putnam, who donated the objects to the Peabody Museum of Archaeology 
and Ethnology the same year. The objects are a hematite fragment, a 
piece of graphite, groundstone, a bone disc, ceramic sherds, complete 
and partial ceramic vessels, and red ochre.
    The museum's documentary records indicate that these objects came 
from a series of excavations led by F.W. Putnam at burial sites in 
Avon. The exact locations of these excavations are not documented, 
although two specific sites, the Brush Creek and Fort Hill sites, are 
described in the field notebook. The sites are thought to be in the 
vicinity of the Bosley Mill site along Route 15, near Trip Hammer Road, 
in the southeastern section of Avon. These objects likely came from the 
Fort Hill site, located on Anson Miller's farm. More precise 
provenience information is not available. Artifacts recovered with the 
burials date from the 17th and 18th centuries, and museum information 
indicates that the objects from these sites most likely date to the 
Historic period (post-A.D. 1700). The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and 
Ethnology does not have possession of the human remains from these 
burials. The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology has possession 
of human remains from other burials at this site, which are reported in 
a Notice of Inventory Completion.
    In 1889, one cultural item consisting of a gunflint was recovered 
from Avon, NY, and donated to the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and 
Ethnology by William Nesbit.
    Museum records indicate that this object came from a grave in Avon. 
No additional provenience information is available. This object most 
likely dates to the Contact period or later (post-A.D. 1500). Firearms 
first appeared on Native American sites in the eastern United States 
during the first quarter of the 17th century, and with increasing 
frequency subsequent to their introduction. The Peabody Museum of 
Archaeology and Ethnology does not have possession of the human remains 
from this burial.
    In 1903, 208 cultural items were recovered from the Silverheels 
site in Brant, NY, during a Peabody Museum expedition led by M.R. 
Harrington and A.C. Parker. The objects include ceramic sherds and 
vessels; cherts points and flakes; glass, copper, and catlinite beads; 
an animal skin fragment; shell objects; an antler doll; raccoon bacula; 
red ochre; and paint stones.
    Museum records indicate that these objects were recovered from the 
Silverheels site in the town of Brant, 1.5 miles east of the village of 
Irving, on the Cattaraugus Indian Reservation, approximately 2.5 miles 
upstream of Lake Erie on the Cattaraugus Creek. These objects most 
likely date to the early Contact period (A.D. 1500-1700). Artifacts 
recovered from this site including Levanna- and Madison-style 
projectile points; ceramic vessels with globular bodies, constricted, 
zoned, incised necks, and castellated rims; and a variety of terra 
cotta pipes support a date from the early Contact period. Multivariate 
attribute and statistical analysis of ceramic artifacts from the site 
indicate that the site represents a single occupation during the early 
17th century. The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology does not 
have possession of the human remains from these burials. The Peabody 
Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology has possession of human remains 
from other burials at this site, which are reported in a Notice of 
Inventory Completion.
    In 1922, 43 cultural items were donated to the Peabody Museum of 
Archaeology and Ethnology by J.H. Woods. These objects were collected 
at an unknown date and consist of a

[[Page 51065]]

projectile point; bone awl; bone ornament; drilled animal teeth; string 
of shell beads; and clay, wooden, and stone pipes, including an effigy 
pipe.
    Museum records indicate that these objects came from graves in the 
Mohawk Valley and a village site in Ithaca, NY. No additional 
provenience information is available in museum documentation, although 
information provided during consultation indicates that the objects 
from Ithaca were from funerary contexts. These objects most likely date 
to the terminal Late Woodland and Contact periods (A.D. 1300-1700). The 
projectile point and shell beads are consistent with Late Woodland 
typologies, and both zoomorphic and anthropomorphic effigy pipes are 
closely associated with the Late Woodland and Early Contact periods. 
The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology does not have 
possession of the human remains from these burials.
    In 1985, 120 cultural items were donated to the Peabody Museum by 
William H. Claflin. These objects came from graves in Cayuga and 
Wyoming Counties, NY. The objects are metal ornaments and pendants; a 
copper tinkler; stone gorgets; and shell, stone, and glass beads.
    The museum's documentary records indicate that these objects came 
from a series of excavations by C.C. Jones in the 19th century and W.H. 
Claflin in the 20th century. No site information is recorded, but some 
of the objects were recovered from the vicinity of Silver Lake in 
Wyoming County, while others were recovered near Venico in Cayuga 
County. These objects most likely date to the early Contact period or 
later (post-A.D. 1600), based on glass beads that were introduced by 
Europeans as trade items in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, 
tubular wampum of a more standardized form that usually dates to post-
A.D. 1625, and objects of European copper that are common on sites that 
date to the second quarter of the 16th century and later. The Peabody 
Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology does not have possession of the 
human remains from these burials.
    Excavation records, museum records, and consultation information 
indicate that the cultural items described above were removed from 
specific burials of Native American individuals. Based on the date and 
the provenience of the cultural items from areas considered to be 
aboriginal homelands and traditional burial areas of the Iroquois, a 
reasonable link of shared group identity may be made between these 
objects and the present-day tribes who represent the Iroquois: the 
Cayuga Nation of New York, Oneida Nation of New York, Oneida Tribe of 
Wisconsin, Onondaga Nation of New York, St. Regis Band of Mohawk 
Indians of New York, Seneca Nation of New York, Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of 
Oklahoma, Tonawanda Band of Seneca Indians of New York, and Tuscarora 
Nation of New York.
    Based on the above-mentioned information, officials of the Peabody 
Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology have determined that, pursuant to 
43 CFR 10.2(d)(2)(ii), these cultural items 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 and are believed, 
by a preponderance of the evidence, to have been removed from specific 
burial sites of Native American individuals. Officials of the Peabody 
Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology also have determined that, pursuant 
to 43 CFR 10.2(e), there is a relationship of shared group identity 
that can be reasonably traced between these unassociated funerary 
objects and the Cayuga Nation of New York, Oneida Nation of New York, 
Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin, Onondaga Nation of New York, St. Regis Band 
of Mohawk Indians of New York, Seneca Nation of New York, Seneca-Cayuga 
Tribe of Oklahoma, Tonawanda Band of Seneca Indians of New York, and 
the Tuscarora Nation of New York.
    This notice has been sent to officials of the Cayuga Nation of New 
York; Delaware Nation, Oklahoma; Delaware Tribe of Indians, Oklahoma; 
Oneida Nation of New York; Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin; Onondaga Nation 
of New York; St. Regis Band of Mohawk Indians of New York; Seneca 
Nation of New York; Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma; Stockbridge-Munsee 
Community of Mohican Indians of Wisconsin; Tonawanda Band of Seneca 
Indians of New York; Tuscarora Nation of New York; and the nonfederally 
recognized Mohawk Nation Council of Chiefs. Representatives of any 
other Indian tribe that believes itself to be culturally affiliated 
with these unassociated funerary objects should contact Patricia 
Capone, Repatriation Coordinator, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and 
Ethnology, Harvard University, 11 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, 
telephone (617) 496-3702, before November 5, 2001. Repatriation of 
these unassociated funerary objects to the Cayuga Nation of New York, 
Oneida Nation of New York, Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin, Onondaga Nation 
of New York, St. Regis Band of Mohawk Indians of New York, Seneca 
Nation of New York, Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma, Tonawanda Band of 
Seneca Indians of New York, and the Tuscarora Nation of New York may 
begin after that date if no additional claimants come forward.

    Dated: July 3, 2001.
John Robbins,
Assistant Director, Cultural Resources Stewardship and Partnerships.
[FR Doc. 01-24965 Filed 10-4-01 ; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-F