[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 228 (Tuesday, November 25, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71677-71678]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-28006]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion: Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of 
Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA

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 Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, 
University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA. The human remains and 
associated funerary objects were removed from Amador and Calaveras 
Counties, CA.
    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.
    An assessment of the human remains, catalogue records, and relevant 
associated documents was made by the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of 
Anthropology professional staff in consultation with representatives of 
the Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians of California; Cher-Ae 
Heights Indian Community of the Trinidad Rancheria, California; Chicken 
Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians of California; Ione Band of Miwok 
Indians of California; Jackson Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians of 
California; Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, Shingle Springs 
Rancheria (Verona Tract), California; Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians 
of the Tuolumne Rancheria of California; and United Auburn Indian 
Community of the Auburn Rancheria of California.
    In 1952 and 1953, human remains representing a minimum of 65 
individuals (29 catalogue records) were removed from CA-Cal-83, a site 
located on the eastern slope of Golden Gate Hill in Calaveras County, 
CA, by E. Treganza of the University of California Archaeological 
Survey. The human remains and associated funerary objects were 
accessioned into the museum between 1952 and 1953 (Accessions UCAS 175 
and UCAS 233 respectively). No known individuals were identified. The 
15,213 associated funerary objects are 2 balls, 14,663 beads, 5 belt 
fragments, 9 animal bones, 8 bottle fragments, 1 bowl, 1 brush, 1 
buckle, 39 buttons, 1 cane fragment, 1 clasp, 4 cloth fragments, 2 
coins, 10 colored fragments, 1 container, 12 copper fragments, 1 
cordage, 5 crystals, 1 cylinder, 1 disc, 10 metal objects, 1 file, 13 
lithics, 13 eating utensils, 4 handles, 1 heel, 13 knives, 2 mirrors, 1 
mortar, 14 iron nails, 23 obsidian flakes and fragments, 2 lumps of 
ochre, 94 ornaments, 2 pebbles, 79 pendants, 1 pestle, 4 pins, 1 point, 
3 projectile points, 1 rivet, 2 rock fragments, 5 scissors fragments, 
13 scrapers, 25 sequins, 44 shells, 10 shoe fragments, 1 string, 11 
textile fragments, 1 thimble, 8 tubes, 1 twig, 17 whistles, 21 wood 
fragments, 1 shovel blade, and 3 soil samples.
    In 1950, human remains representing a minimum of 12 individuals (12 
catalogue records) were removed from CA-Ama-3 (Bamert Cave), a site 
located on a hill overlooking the Camanche Reservoir in Amador County, 
CA, by R.F. Heizer and A.E. Treganza. The human remains and associated 
funerary objects were accessioned into the museum in that same year. No 
known individuals were identified. The one associated funerary object 
is the burial encasement of the individual in catalogue record no. 1-
164179a, which includes coiled basketry, twined burden basket, tule 
reed mat, milkweed cordage, and grass lining.
    Chronological information is available for the human remains, 
associated funerary objects, and other site-specific artifacts present 
at both CA-Cal-83 and CA-Ama-3. One radiocarbon date (on charcoal) and 
the presence of artifacts such as coins (minted in 1856) and casket 
hardware (patented in 1865) indicate that these locations were still in 
use for burial purposes in historic times. The two sites are located in 
the aboriginal territory of the Northern Sierra Miwok as indicated by 
ethnographic and linguistic data. In addition, oral history and native 
folklore contain numerous geographic references to these parts of 
Calaveras and Amador Counties. The archeological evidence for the 
region is indicative of cultural continuity from 1500 BP, with the 
expansion of the ancestral Miwok into the Sierra, to the emergence of 
the historic Sierra Miwok after 750 BP. The Amador Phase (750-150BP) 
contains archeological traits that are consistent with ethnographic 
Sierra Miwok culture. Descendants of the Northern Sierra Miwok are 
members of the Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians of California; 
Cher-Ae Heights Indian Community of the Trinidad Rancheria, California; 
Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians of California; Ione Band of 
Miwok Indians of California; Jackson Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians of 
California; Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, Shingle Springs 
Rancheria (Verona Tract), California; Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians 
of the Tuolumne Rancheria of California; and United Auburn Indian 
Community of the Auburn Rancheria of California.
    Officials of the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology have 
determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (9-10), the human remains 
described above represent the physical remains of 77 individuals of 
Native American ancestry. Officials of the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of 
Anthropology have also determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 
(3)(A), that the 15,214 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 Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology 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 Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians of California; 
Cher-Ae Heights Indian Community of the Trinidad Rancheria, California; 
Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians of California; Ione Band of 
Miwok Indians of California; Jackson Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians of 
California; Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, Shingle Springs 
Rancheria (Verona Tract), California; Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians 
of the Tuolumne Rancheria of California; and United Auburn Indian 
Community of the Auburn Rancheria of California.
    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with the human remains and associated funerary 
objects should

[[Page 71678]]

contact Judd King, Interim Director of the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of 
Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, before 
December 26, 2008. Repatriation of the human remains and associated 
funerary objects to the Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians of 
California; Cher-Ae Heights Indian Community of the Trinidad Rancheria, 
California; Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians of California; 
Ione Band of Miwok Indians of California; Jackson Rancheria of Me-Wuk 
Indians of California; Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, Shingle 
Springs Rancheria (Verona Tract), California; Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk 
Indians of the Tuolumne Rancheria of California; and United Auburn 
Indian Community of the Auburn Rancheria of California may proceed 
after that date if no additional claimants come forward.
    The Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology is responsible for 
notifying the Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians of California; 
Cher-Ae Heights Indian Community of the Trinidad Rancheria, California; 
Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians of California; Ione Band of 
Miwok Indians of California; Jackson Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians of 
California; Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, Shingle Springs 
Rancheria (Verona Tract), California; Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians 
of the Tuolumne Rancheria of California; and United Auburn Indian 
Community of the Auburn Rancheria of California that this notice has 
been published.

    Dated: October 23, 2008
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. E8-28006 Filed 11-24-08; 8:45 am]
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