[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 35 (Wednesday, February 22, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9151-9152]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-2446]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior, 
National Park Service, Tonto National Monument, Roosevelt, AZ

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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    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 in the control of the U.S. Department of the Interior, National 
Park Service, Tonto National Monument, Roosevelt, AZ. The human remains 
and cultural items were removed from two sites within the monument's 
boundaries and one site west of the monument.
    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 
superintendent, Tonto National Monument.
    A detailed assessment of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects was made by Tonto National Monument professional staff in 
consultation with representatives of the Gila River Indian Community of 
the Gila River Indian Reservation, Arizona; Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Salt 
River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community of the Salt River Reservation, 
Arizona; Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona; and Zuni Tribe of the Zuni 
Reservation, New Mexico. The Ak Chin Indian Community of the Maricopa 
(Ak Chin) Indian Reservation, Arizona, was contacted, but did not 
attend the consultation meeting and was represented by the Gila River 
Indian Community of the Gila River Indian Reservation, Arizona.
    In 1936 and 1940, human remains representing a minimum of two 
individuals were removed from the monument's Upper Ruin site in Gila 
County, AZ, during legally authorized excavations by the National Park 
Service. No known individuals were identified. The three associated 
funerary objects are textile fragments.
    Diagnostic artifacts found associated with the burials as well as 
elsewhere on the site indicate that the human remains were buried 
during the Gila phase of the Classic period (A.D. 1300-1450).
    In 1950, human remains representing a minimum of three individuals 
were recovered from the monument's Lower Ruin site in Gila County, AZ, 
during legally authorized excavations by the National Park Service. No 
known individuals were identified. The 25 associated funerary objects 
are 1 gourd container, 1 Tonto Red bowl, 1 piece of cordage, 1 
cradleboard, 1 rattle, 2 twilled baskets, 1 awl, 8 awl fragments, 1 
crystal, 1 box containing fragments of blue, red, and green painted 
staffs, 1 bone tessera, 3 mat fragments, 1 spindle, 1 ring of yucca 
fiber, and 1 pendant.
    Diagnostic artifacts found associated with the burials as well as 
elsewhere on the site indicate that the human remains were buried 
during the Gila phase of the Classic period (A.D. 1300-1450).
    In 1956, human remains representing a minimum of two individuals 
were donated to the National Park Service by Dr. Cyril M. Cron. The 
remains were removed by unknown persons from the monument's Upper Ruin 
site in Gila County, AZ. No known individuals were identified. The 23 
associated funerary objects are 2 blankets, 1 cordage artifact, 1 
cradleboard, 1 impression of twilled matting, 1 pillow, 6 textile 
fragments and 1 box of textile fragments, 8 textile strips, and 2 
textiles.
    Diagnostic artifacts found on the site indicate that the human 
remains were buried during the Gila phase of the Classic period (A.D. 
1300-1450). These human remains and associated funerary objects are 
recorded on the NAGPRA inventory of the Western Archeological and 
Conservation Center (WACC) of National Park Service, where they are 
stored, but are included here for consistency.
    In 1963, human remains representing a minimum of one individual 
were inadvertently discovered by Arizona State Highway Department 
workers outside the monument on the west side of Tonto Creek, Gila 
County, AZ. No known individual was identified. The one associated 
funerary object is a Salado Red ceramic bowl.
    The associated funerary object as well as objects found nearby 
indicate that the human remains were buried during the Classic period 
(A.D. 1200-1450). At the time of discovery, the Arizona State Highway 
Department requested assistance from National Park Service, which was 
provided. The human remains and associated funerary object were 
subsequently accessioned into Tonto National Monument's collections. On 
November 29, 2005, the Arizona Department of Transportation consented 
to Tonto National Monument taking NAGPRA responsibility for these human 
remains and associated funerary object.
    Tonto Basin is one of several areas in the Southwest associated 
with the ``Salado,'' a term that has invoked archeological debate since 
the 1930s. The basin is located between the desert-dwelling Hohokam to 
the south and ancestral Puebloan groups of the mountain areas to the 
north and east. The geographic area contains a variety of architectural 
styles and material culture that represent both the Hohokam and 
ancestral Puebloan traditions. For example, both architectural styles 
are sometimes found within single sites, suggesting close mixing 
between the two groups. Recent research suggests that the intermixing 
of these two groups may have occurred in the late 13th century to the 
middle part of the 15th century when the Tonto Basin was depopulated. 
Site types in the Tonto Basin include fieldhouses, roomblocks, 
compounds, and platform mounds. In addition, pottery such as Roosevelt 
Red Ware, Salado Red, and Salado White-on-red represent a key component 
to Salado material culture. These ceramics were found during 
excavations of the upper and lower cliff dwellings in Tonto National 
Monument.
    Overall, the archeological evidence, including material culture, 
architectural styles, and burial practices, indicates affiliation with 
a number of contemporary indigenous groups both

[[Page 9152]]

from the southern and northern Southwest, including the Ak Chin Indian 
Community of the Maricopa (Ak Chin) Indian Reservation, Arizona; Gila 
River Indian Community of the Gila River Indian Reservation, Arizona; 
Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community of the 
Salt River Reservation, Arizona; Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona; and 
Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico. In addition to the 
archeological evidence, oral traditions of the six tribes support 
ancestral ties to the Salado cultural tradition.
    Officials of Tonto National Monument have determined that, pursuant 
to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (9-10), the human remains described above represent 
the physical remains of eight individuals of Native American ancestry. 
Officials of Tonto National Monument also have determined that, 
pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (3)(A), the 52 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 Tonto National Monument have determined 
that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (2), 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 Ak Chin 
Indian Community of the Maricopa (Ak Chin) Indian Reservation, Arizona; 
Gila River Indian Community of the Gila River Indian Reservation, 
Arizona; Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian 
Community of the Salt River Reservation, Arizona; Tohono O'odham Nation 
of Arizona; and 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 associated funerary 
objects should contact Bradley S. Traver, superintendent, Tonto 
National Monument, HC 02, Box 4602, Roosevelt, AZ 85545, telephone 
(928) 467-2241, before March 24, 2006. Repatriation of the human 
remains and associated funerary objects to the Ak Chin Indian Community 
of the Maricopa (Ak Chin) Indian Reservation, Arizona; Gila River 
Indian Community of the Gila River Indian Reservation, Arizona; Hopi 
Tribe of Arizona; Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community of the Salt 
River Reservation, Arizona; Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona; and Zuni 
Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico may proceed after that date 
if no additional claimants come forward.
    Tonto National Monument is responsible for notifying the Ak Chin 
Indian Community of the Maricopa (Ak Chin) Indian Reservation, Arizona; 
Gila River Indian Community of the Gila River Indian Reservation, 
Arizona; Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian 
Community of the Salt River Reservation, Arizona; Tohono O'odham Nation 
of Arizona; and Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico that 
this notice has been published.

    Dated: January 27, 2006.
C. Timothy McKeown,
Acting Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. E6-2446 Filed 2-21-06; 8:45 am]
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