[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 84 (Tuesday, May 1, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25737-25738]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-10501]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[2253-665]


Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: Arizona State 
Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, in 
consultation with the appropriate Indian tribes, has determined that 
the cultural items meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects 
and repatriation to the Indian tribes stated below may occur if no 
additional claimants come forward. Representatives of any Indian tribe 
that believes itself to be culturally affiliated with the cultural 
items may contact the Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona.

DATES: Representatives of any Indian tribe that believes it has a 
cultural affiliation with the cultural items should contact the Arizona 
State Museum, University of Arizona at the address below by May 31, 
2012.

ADDRESSES: John McClelland, NAGPRA Coordinator, Arizona State Museum, 
University of Arizona, P.O. Box 210026, Tucson, AZ 85721, telephone 
(520) 626-2950.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is here given in accordance with the 
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25 
U.S.C. 3005, of the intent to repatriate cultural items in the 
possession of the Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson, 
AZ, that meets the definition of unassociated funerary objects under 25 
U.S.C. 3001.
    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 cultural items. The National Park Service is not responsible 
for the determinations in this notice.

History and Description of the Cultural Items

    In 1930, cultural items were removed from Queen Creek Ruin, also 
known as Sonoqui Pueblo, Pozos de Sonoqui, or Sun Temple Ruin (AZ 
U:14:48(ASM)/SACATON:2:6(GP)), in Maricopa County, AZ, during legally 
authorized excavations conducted by the Gila Pueblo Foundation. The 
items were reportedly found in association with human burials, but the 
human remains are not present in the collections. In December 1950, the 
Gila Pueblo Foundation closed and the collections were donated to the 
Arizona State Museum. The 30 unassociated funerary objects are 12 
ceramic bowls, 8 ceramic jars, 1 ceramic ladle, 3 ceramic pitchers, 5 
ceramic scoops, and 1 ceramic sherd.
    Queen Creek Ruin was a large habitation site that included trash 
mounds, burials, pithouses, canals, adobe compounds, and a ballcourt. 
Architectural features, the mortuary program, ceramic types, and other 
items of material culture are consistent with the Hohokam archeological 
tradition and indicate occupation between approximately A.D. 950 and 
1450.

[[Page 25738]]

    In 1927-1928, a cultural item was removed from the Adamsville site 
(AZ U:15:1(ASM)/FLORENCE:7:6(GP)), in Pinal County, AZ, during legally 
authorized excavations conducted by the Gila Pueblo Foundation. The 
item was reportedly found in association with a human burial, but 
information to associate the object with a specific burial has not been 
found. In December 1950, the Gila Pueblo Foundation closed and the 
collections were donated to the Arizona State Museum. The one 
unassociated funerary object is a ceramic jar.
    The Adamsville site was a large village that included a platform 
mound, adobe structures, and ballcourts. Architectural features, the 
mortuary program, ceramic types, and other items of material culture 
are consistent with the Hohokam archeological tradition and indicate 
occupation between approximately A.D. 900 and 1450.
    In 1973, cultural items were removed from Escalante Ruin (AZ 
U:15:3(ASM)), in Pinal County, AZ, during legally authorized 
excavations conducted by the Arizona State Museum under the direction 
of David Doyel. All collections from this project were accessioned into 
Arizona State Museum collections in 1976. The items were associated 
with a human burial, but the human remains are not present in the 
collections. The two unassociated funerary objects are a stone axe and 
a quartz polishing stone.
    Escalante Ruin was the central habitation site of the Escalante 
Group Complex. It contained a large platform mound, a compound, and a 
room block attached to the mound. Architectural features, the mortuary 
program, ceramic types, and other items of material culture are 
consistent with the Hohokam archeological tradition and indicate 
occupation between approximately A.D. 1150 and 1450.
    Continuities of mortuary practices, ethnographic materials, and 
technology indicate affiliation of Hohokam settlements with present-day 
O'odham (Piman) and Puebloan cultures. Documentation submitted by 
representatives of the Gila River Indian Community of the Gila River 
Indian Reservation, Arizona, on April 13, 2011, addresses continuities 
between the Hohokam and the O'odham tribes. Furthermore, oral 
traditions that are documented for 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; and the Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona support 
affiliation with Hohokam sites in central Arizona.

Determinations Made by the Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona

    Officials of the Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona have 
determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(B), the 33 cultural items 
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 and are believed, by a preponderance of the 
evidence, to have been removed from a specific burial site of a Native 
American individual.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), there is a relationship of 
shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the 
unassociated 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; and the Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with the unassociated funerary objects should 
contact John McClelland, NAGPRA Coordinator, Arizona State Museum, 
University of Arizona, P.O. Box 210026, Tucson, AZ 85721, telephone 
(520) 626-2950 before May 31, 2012. Repatriation of the unassociated 
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; and the Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona may proceed after 
that date if no additional claimants come forward.
    The Arizona State Museum 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; and the Tohono 
O'odham Nation of Arizona that this notice has been published.

    Dated: April 26, 2012.
David Tarler,
Acting Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2012-10501 Filed 4-30-12; 8:45 am]
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