[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 113 (Tuesday, June 12, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34987-34988]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-14309]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-10346; 2200-1100-665]


Notice of Inventory Completion: University of Pennsylvania Museum 
of Archaeology & Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, 
Philadelphia, PA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology & 
Anthropology has completed an inventory of human remains in 
consultation with the appropriate Indian tribe and has determined that 
there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and a 
present-day Indian tribe. Representatives of any Indian tribe that 
believes itself to be culturally affiliated with the human remains may 
contact the Museum. Repatriation of the human remains to the Indian 
tribe stated below may occur if no additional claimants come forward.

DATES: Representatives of any Indian tribe that believes it has a 
cultural affiliation with the human remains should contact the Museum 
at the address below by July 12, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Dr. Richard Hodges, Director, University of Pennsylvania 
Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, 3260 
South Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, telephone (215) 898-4050.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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 in the 
possession of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology & 
Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA. The human 
remains were removed from a site on the Platte River, near Overton, 
NE., and from an unknown site on or near the Missouri River, probably 
in Missouri or Nebraska.
    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. The National Park Service is not responsible 
for the determinations in this notice.

Consultation

    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by the 
University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology's 
professional staff in consultation with the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma.

History and Description of the Remains

    On April 18, 1820, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from a Pawnee winter camp near the Platte River 
approximately six and half miles from Overton, in Dawson County, NE., 
by Dr. Thomas Say, zoologist for the Stephen H. Long Expedition to the 
Rocky Mountains. Upon the completion of the expedition, the human 
remains were sent to the Philadelphia Museum

[[Page 34988]]

Company, also known as the Peale Museum. At an unknown date, the human 
remains were loaned to Dr. Samuel Morton for his study of human crania. 
Dr. Morton assigned the remains the catalogue number ``P'' and sometime 
between 1846 and 1849, Dr. Morton accessioned the cranium (No. 540) 
into his collections. From approximately 1830 until Dr. Morton's death 
in 1851, the Academy of Natural Science in Philadelphia provided 
storage space for much of Dr. Morton's collection, including the human 
remains. In 1853, the collection was purchased from Dr. Morton's estate 
and formally presented to the Academy. In 1966, Dr. Morton's 
collection, including these human remains (Museum accession number 97-
606-540), was loaned to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of 
Archaeology and Anthropology. In 1997, the collection was formally 
gifted to the University of Pennsylvania Museum. No known individuals 
were identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    The human remains have been identified as Native American based on 
the specific cultural and geographic attribution in the museum records. 
Collector's records, museum documentation, and published sources 
(Morton 1839, 1840, and 1849; Meigs 1857) identify the human remains as 
those of a female Pawnee Indian who was killed in 1820 at a Pawnee 
winter village near the Platte River, in present day Nebraska. The 
museum documentation further dates the remains to the Historic Period. 
Scholarly publications indicate that the Platte River in Nebraska is 
the ancestral homeland of the Pawnee Indians before their removal to 
Oklahoma.
    At an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed by an unknown individual from a site on or near 
the Missouri River in Missouri or Nebraska. At an unknown date, the 
human remains were transferred to Dr. B.B. Brown of St. Louis, 
Missouri. Sometime prior to 1849, Dr. Brown sent the human remains to 
Dr. Samuel Morton of Philadelphia, who accessioned the human remains as 
No. 1043. From approximately 1830 until Dr. Morton's death in 1851, the 
Academy of Natural Science in Philadelphia provided storage space for 
much of Dr. Morton's collection, including the human remains. In 1853, 
the collection was purchased from Dr. Morton's estate and formally 
presented to the Academy. In 1966, Dr. Morton's collection, including 
these human remains (Museum accession number 97-606-1043), was loaned 
to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and 
Anthropology. In 1997, the collection was formally gifted to the 
University of Pennsylvania Museum. No known individuals were 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    The human remains have been identified as Native American based on 
the specific cultural and geographic attribution in the museum records. 
Collector's records, museum documentation, and published sources 
(Morton 1849; Meigs 1857) identify the human remains as those of a 
female Pawnee Indian and date them to the Historic Period.

Determinations Made by the University of Pennsylvania Museum of 
Archaeology and Anthropology

    Officials of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology 
and Anthropology have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of two individuals of 
Native American ancestry.
     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 remain and the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    Representatives of any Indian tribe that believes itself to be 
culturally affiliated with the human remains should contact Director 
Dr. Richard Hodges, University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology & 
Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, 3260 South Street, 
Philadelphia, PA, 19104, telephone (215) 898-4050 before July 12, 2012. 
Repatriation of the human remains to the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma may 
proceed after that date if no additional claimants come forward.
    The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and 
Anthropology is responsible for notifying the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma 
that this notice has been published.

    Dated: June 7, 2012.
David Tarler,
Acting Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2012-14309 Filed 6-11-12; 8:45 am]
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