[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]
BILLING CODE 4312-50-P