[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 209 (Wednesday, October 28, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68362-68364]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-23827]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0031019; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: California Department of 
Transportation, Sacramento, CA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), 
assisted by the Fowler Museum at the University of California Los 
Angeles (UCLA) and the San Luis Obispo County Archaeological Society 
Research and Collections Facility (SLOCAS), has completed an inventory 
of human remains and associated funerary objects, in consultation with 
the appropriate Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations and has 
determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human 
remains and associated funerary objects and present-day Indian Tribes 
or Native Hawaiian organizations. Lineal descendants or representatives 
of any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian

[[Page 68363]]

organization not identified in this notice that wish to request 
transfer of control of these human remains and associated funerary 
objects should submit a written request to the California Department of 
Transportation. If no additional requestors come forward, transfer of 
control of the human remains and associated funerary objects to the 
lineal descendants, Indian Tribes, or Native Hawaiian organizations 
stated in this notice may proceed.

DATES: Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian Tribe or 
Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to 
request transfer of control of these human remains and associated 
funerary objects should submit a written request with information in 
support of the request to the California Department of Transportation 
at the address in this notice by November 27, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Sarah Allred, California Department of Transportation, P.O. 
Box 942874 MS 27, Sacramento, CA 94271-0001, telephone (916) 653-0013, 
email [email protected].

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 and 
associated funerary objects under the control of the California 
Department of Transportation, Sacramento, CA, and in the physical 
custody of the Fowler Museum at the University of California Los 
Angeles, Los Angeles, CA and the San Luis Obispo County Archaeological 
Society Research and Collections Facility, San Luis Obispo, CA. The 
human remains and associated funerary objects were removed from San 
Luis Obispo County, 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.

Consultation

    A detailed assessment of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects was made by California Department of Transportation, UCLA, and 
SLOCAS professional staff in consultation with representatives of the 
Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians of the Santa Ynez 
Reservation, California and three non-federally recognized Indian 
groups--the Barbareno/Ventureno Band of Mission Indians, Northern 
Chumash Tribe, and Salinan Tribe of San Luis Obispo and Monterey 
Counties (hereafter referred to as ``The Consulted Tribes and 
Groups'').

History and Description of the Remains

    In 1965 and 1966, human remains representing, at minimum, 74 
individuals were removed from CA-SLO-175 in San Luis Obispo County, CA. 
David Abrams and Nelson Leonard, in association with the University of 
California Archeological Survey, began excavations when Caltrans sought 
to widen Highway 1, which would significantly impact this Middle-to-
Late Period site. The land was originally owned by the Hearst 
Corporation; Caltrans purchased the right-of-way in June 1966. All 
laboratory work was completed at UCLA. Abrams reported on the site and 
excavation in the MA thesis he submitted to the University of 
California Davis. Except for the human remains and associated funerary 
objects, UCLA sent the collection from CA-SLO-175 to SLOCAS (located at 
Cuesta College) for further study and analysis in March 1973. 
Subsequently, additional materials associated with the site were found 
at UCLA, and in May 1978, they were sent to SLOCAS for permanent 
curation. On July 14, 2017, UCLA sent the human remains and associated 
funerary objects to SLOCAS in order to bring the collection back 
together for an inventory, and to look for missing and loaned artifacts 
with the assistance of Chumash community members. The human remains 
derive from 40 formal burials and recovered fragmentary remains, 
representing a minimum number of 74 individuals in total. (The field 
notes refer to a Burial 41, but only 40 burials in total were 
identified, as ``Burial 6'' was not assigned.) They belong to 47 adult 
individuals, 15 of whom could be identified as male and nine of whom 
could be identified as female; 22 juvenile individuals; one infant; and 
four individuals of unidentifiable age or sex. No known individuals 
were identified. The 1,277 associated funerary objects include 107 
pieces and 12 bags of unmodified faunal remains; three bone awl 
fragments; 14 bone ornaments; six bone whistles; five bone sweat 
sticks; three modified bone pieces; 46 pieces of chipped chert; one 
limestone fragment; one coral fragment; one sandstone hammerstone; one 
siltstone pick; three stone fragments; three steatite beads; two 
tarring pebbles; two net weights; five obsidian flakes; five pieces of 
red ochre; 15 fragments and one bag of asphaltum (13 of the 15 pieces 
are inlaid with shell beads); two asphaltum plugs; 1,019 beads and one 
bag of shell beads; three shell ornaments; 12 pieces and one bag of 
unmodified shell; one piece and one bag of shell with asphaltum 
residue; and one piece of charcoal. (Eight additional items--two pieces 
of unmodified shell, two pieces of chipped chert, one net weight, one 
piece of cut wood, and two asphaltum inlaid pipes--have not yet been 
located.)
    In 1965, human remains representing, at minimum, 11 individuals 
were removed from CA-SLO-179 in San Luis Obispo County, CA. Nelson 
Leonard and a UCLA Archaeological Survey crew conducted excavation at 
this large shell midden near Pico Creek before the widening of Highway 
1, which would partially destroy the Middle-to-Late Period site. All 
analysis and reports were completed at UCLA in Anthropology. Except for 
the human remains and associated funerary objects, UCLA sent the 
collection from CA-SLO-179 to SLOCAS for further study and analysis in 
March 1973. Subsequently, additional materials associated with the site 
were found at UCLA, and in May 1978, they were sent to SLOCAS for 
permanent curation. On July 14, 2017, UCLA sent the human remains and 
associated funerary objects to SLOCAS in order to bring the collection 
back together for an inventory, and to look for missing and loaned 
artifacts with the assistance of Chumash community members. The human 
remains of three individuals--two adult males and a juvenile--derive 
from two formal burials, while the human remains of, at minimum, eight 
individuals--three of them juvenile--were recovered from midden 
contexts. No known individuals were identified. The five associated 
funerary objects are projectile point fragments. (One glass fragment 
and one large mussel shell are currently missing from the collections. 
Records indicate that the missing items were transferred to Cuesta 
College in May 1978. No further information could be found.)
    Based on geographical, ethnographic, historical, oral traditional, 
and archeological information, Caltrans has determined that CA-SLO-175 
and CA-SLO-179 lie within the traditional territory of the Chumash and 
Salinan people. The associated funerary objects, too, are consistent 
with those belonging to groups ancestral to the present-day Chumash and 
Salinan people.

Determinations Made by the California Department of Transportation

    Officials of the California Department of Transportation have 
determined that:

[[Page 68364]]

     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of 85 individuals of 
Native American ancestry.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the 1,282 objects 
described in this notice 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.
     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 Santa 
Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians of the Santa Ynez Reservation, 
California.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian Tribe or Native 
Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to 
request transfer of control of these human remains and associated 
funerary objects should submit a written request with information in 
support of the request to Sarah Allred, California Department of 
Transportation, P.O. Box 942874 MS 27, Sacramento, CA 94271-0001, 
telephone (916) 653-0013, email [email protected], by November 
27, 2020. After that date, if no additional requestors have come 
forward, transfer of control of the human remains and associated 
funerary objects to the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians of 
the Santa Ynez Reservation, California may proceed.
    The California Department of Transportation is responsible for 
notifying The Consulted Tribes and Groups that this notice has been 
published.

    Dated: October 9, 2020.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2020-23827 Filed 10-27-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P