[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 208 (Friday, October 26, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54284-54285]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-27050]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion for Native American Human Remains 
and Associated Funerary Objects in the Possession of the University of 
Denver Department of Anthropology and Museum of Anthropology, Denver, 
CO

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

    Notice is hereby given in accordance with provisions of the Native 
American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 43 CFR 10.9, 
of the completion of an inventory of human remains and associated 
funerary objects in the possession of the University of Denver 
Department of Anthropology and Museum of Anthropology, Denver, CO.
    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 Native 
American human remains and associated funerary objects. The National 
Park Service is not responsible for the determinations within this 
notice.
    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by the 
University of Denver Department of Anthropology and Museum of 
Anthropology professional staff in consultation with representatives of 
the Colorado River Indian Tribes of the Colorado River Indian 
Reservation, Arizona and California; Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Navajo 
Nation, Arizona, New Mexico & Utah; Pueblo of Acoma, New Mexico; Pueblo 
of Cochiti, New Mexico; Pueblo of Isleta, New Mexico; Pueblo of Jemez, 
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 San Juan, New Mexico; Pueblo of Sandia, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa 
Ana, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa Clara, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santo 
Domingo, New Mexico; Pueblo of Taos, New Mexico; Pueblo of Tesuque, New 
Mexico; Pueblo of Zia, New Mexico; and Zuni Tribe of the Zuni 
Reservation, New Mexico.
    Between 1972 and 1976, human remains representing eight individuals 
(catalog numbers 29VA1 4-11, 29VA1 63-2, 29VA1 77-6, 29VA1 77-10, 29VA1 
85-2, and 29VA1 85-6) were recovered from the Pettit site, near Ramah, 
Cibola County, NM, by faculty and students of Wake Forest University, 
Winston-Salem, NC, during an archeological fieldschool. In 1988, the 
human remains and associated funerary objects were transferred to the 
University of Denver Museum of Anthropology for permanent curation, and 
in 1996, Gordon and Elsa Pettit, the owners of the land, signed a deed 
of gift transferring all rights to the University of Denver Museum of 
Anthropology. No known individuals were identified. The 178 associated 
funerary objects are 94 sherds (including cord-marked, Black-on-Red, 
and Black-on-White), 42 chipped stones, 3 chipped stone flakes, 3 
rocks, 1 ground stone, 22 nonhuman bones, 2 shell fragments, 7 charcoal 
samples, 2 pollen samples, and 2 soil samples.
    The Pettit site, 29VA1 (LA 59484), is in Togeye Canyon, a few 
kilometers southeast of Ramah, NM, near the Pueblo of Zuni. It is a 
pueblo of at least 154 rooms and has been dated to A.D. 1190-1250. The 
Pettit site is generally considered to be a PIII period (circa A.D. 
1150-1350) site, or, in some chronologies, a Reorganization period 
site. Both refer to a time period just prior to the large population 
aggregations of the PIV and Aggregation periods on the Colorado 
Plateau. PIII and PIV are Ancestral Puebloan time periods, and in the 
scientific literature the Ancestral Puebloans are widely accepted as 
culturally affiliated to modern Puebloan peoples. The Reorganization 
period is a concept attributed to Cordell and Gumerman's 1989 book 
``Dynamics of Southwestern Prehistory.'' This refers to a time period 
characterized by population displacements and migrations, 
reconfiguration of trade networks, the beginnings of population 
aggregation into larger sites, and experimentation with new forms of 
social organization.
    Oral and written testimony from the Hopi Tribe, Pueblo of Acoma, 
and Navajo Nation supported cultural affiliation between those Indian 
tribes and these human remains and associated funerary objects. Pueblo 
of Jemez presented oral testimony supported by maps that suggested that 
the Pettit site is beyond the Pueblo of Jemez' traditional territory, 
but the museum believes that Pueblo of Jemez is culturally affiliated 
with these human

[[Page 54285]]

remains and associated funerary objects because the scientific 
literature supports cultural affiliation of Ancestral Puebloans with 
all modern Puebloan peoples: Hopi, Pueblo of Acoma, Pueblo of Cochiti, 
Pueblo of Isleta, Pueblo of Jemez, Pueblo of Laguna, Pueblo of Nambe, 
Pueblo of Picuris, Pueblo of Pojoaque, Pueblo of San Felipe, Pueblo of 
San Ildefonso, Pueblo of San Juan, Pueblo of Sandia, Pueblo of Santa 
Ana, Pueblo of Santa Clara, Pueblo of Santo Domingo, Pueblo of Taos, 
Pueblo of Tesuque, Pueblo of Ysleta del Sur, Pueblo of Zia, and Pueblo 
of Zuni.
    Based on the above-mentioned information, officials of the 
University of Denver Department of Anthropology and Museum of 
Anthropology have determined that, pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2 (d)(1), the 
human remains listed above represent the physical remains of eight 
individuals of Native American ancestry. Officials of the University of 
Denver Department of Anthropology and Museum of Anthropology also have 
determined that, pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2 (d)(2), the 178 objects listed 
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 University of Denver 
Department of Anthropology and Museum of Anthropology 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 Native 
American human remains and associated funerary objects and the Hopi 
Tribe of Arizona; Navajo Nation, Arizona, New Mexico & Utah; Pueblo of 
Acoma, New Mexico; Pueblo of Cochiti, New Mexico; Pueblo of Isleta, New 
Mexico; Pueblo of Jemez, 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 San Juan, New Mexico; Pueblo of 
Sandia, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa Ana, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa 
Clara, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santo Domingo, New Mexico; Pueblo of Taos, 
New Mexico; Pueblo of Tesuque, New Mexico; Pueblo of Zia, New Mexico; 
Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo of Texas; and Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, 
New Mexico.
    This notice has been sent to officials of the Colorado River Indian 
Tribes of the Colorado River Indian Reservation, Arizona and 
California; Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Navajo Nation, Arizona, New Mexico & 
Utah; Pueblo of Acoma, New Mexico; Pueblo of Cochiti, New Mexico; 
Pueblo of Isleta, New Mexico; Pueblo of Jemez, 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 San Juan, New 
Mexico; Pueblo of Sandia, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa Ana, New Mexico; 
Pueblo of Santa Clara, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santo Domingo, New Mexico; 
Pueblo of Taos, New Mexico; Pueblo of Tesuque, New Mexico; Pueblo of 
Zia, New Mexico; Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo of Texas; and Zuni Tribe of the 
Zuni Reservation, New Mexico. Representatives of any other Indian tribe 
that believes itself to be culturally affiliated with these human 
remains and associated funerary objects should contact Jan I. 
Bernstein, Collections Manager and NAGPRA Coordinator, University of 
Denver Department of Anthropology and Museum of Anthropology, 2000 
Asbury, Sturm Hall S-146, Denver, CO 80208-2406, e-mail 
[email protected], telephone (303) 871-2543, before November 26, 2001. 
Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects to 
the Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Navajo Nation, Arizona, New Mexico & Utah; 
Pueblo of Acoma, New Mexico; Pueblo of Cochiti, New Mexico; Pueblo of 
Isleta, New Mexico; Pueblo of Jemez, 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 San Juan, New Mexico; 
Pueblo of Sandia, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa Ana, New Mexico; Pueblo 
of Santa Clara, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santo Domingo, New Mexico; Pueblo 
of Taos, New Mexico; Pueblo of Tesuque, New Mexico; Pueblo of Zia, New 
Mexico; Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo of Texas; and Zuni Tribe of the Zuni 
Reservation, New Mexico may begin after that date if no additional 
claimants come forward.

    Dated: August 8, 2001.
John Robbins,
Assistant Director, Cultural Resources Stewardship and Partnerships.
[FR Doc. 01-27050 Filed 10-25-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-S