[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 21 (Tuesday, February 1, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5501-5503]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-02037]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0033353; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Robert S. Peabody Institute of 
Archaeology, Phillips Academy, Andover, MA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology 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 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 Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology. 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 Robert S. Peabody Institute of 
Archaeology at the address in this notice by March 3, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Ryan J. Wheeler, Robert S. Peabody 
Institute of Archaeology, Phillips Academy, 180 Main Street, Andover, 
MA 01810, telephone (978) 749-4490, 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 Robert S. Peabody 
Institute of Archaeology, Phillips Academy, Andover, MA. The human 
remains and associated funerary objects were removed from eight sites 
in Cumberland, Hancock, and Washington Counties, ME.
    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 was made by the Robert 
S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology professional staff in consultation 
with representatives of the Aroostook Band of Micmacs [previously 
listed as Aroostook Band of Micmac Indians]; Houlton Band of Maliseet 
Indians; Passamaquoddy Tribe; and the Penobscot Nation [previously 
listed as Penobscot Tribe of Maine] (hereafter referred to as ``The 
Consulted Tribes'').

History and Description of the Remains

    In 1915, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual 
were removed from Wolfe's Neck (014.101) in Cumberland County, ME, by 
Warren K. Moorehead. During an inventory project at the Robert S. 
Peabody Institute in 2019, the remains were identified (and confirmed 
by a physical anthropologist) as Native American human remains. 
Moorehead had identified the site as Me 171/7. In 1968, Dean Snow 
assigned it number 014.101. Snow's record noted that ancestral human 
remains had been found at the site by Dr. Jos E. Porter of Maine 
General Hospital, in Portland, and that those human remains were 
subsequently transferred to the Anthropology Department at Harvard 
University on August 10, 1953. The human remains at the Peabody 
Institute likely originated from one of the eroding shell middens in 
the area, which would date them sometime between 2,800 years ago and 
the arrival of colonial settlers. No known individual was identified. 
The 36 associated funerary objects are 29 ceramic sherds and seven 
faunal bone fragments.
    In 1913, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual 
were removed from Boynton's Shellheap (043.004) in Hancock County, ME, 
by Warren K. Moorehead and Charles Peabody under the auspices of the 
Department of Archaeology at Phillips Academy (now the Robert S. 
Peabody Institute of Archaeology). During a recent inventory project, 
the remains were identified as Native American human remains. The 
individual's age and sex could not be ascertained. Other human remains 
from Boynton's Shellheap were listed in a Notice of Inventory 
Completion published in the Federal Register on November 21, 2001 (66 
FR 58522-58523, November 21, 2001) and were subsequently transferred to 
The Consulted Tribes. Based on artifact assemblages recovered from the 
site, Boynton's Shellheap was occupied between 2,150 and 500 B.P. No 
known individual was identified. No associated funerary objects are 
present.
    Sometime in the 1930s, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from Falls Island (080.050) in Washington 
County, ME, by avocational archeologists John and Douglas Knapton. The 
human

[[Page 5502]]

remains were given to the Robert S. Peabody Institute as part of the 
materials recovered during the Northeast Archaeological Survey 
conducted in Maine from 1932 to1954. During a recent inventory project, 
the remains were identified as Native American human remains. The 
individual's age and sex could not be ascertained due to the 
fragmentary nature of the human remains. The artifact assemblage from 
Falls Island is consistent with coastal shell-bearing sites from the 
Middle Maritime Woodland and Late Maritime Woodland periods dating 
between approximately 2200 B.P. and contact with European settlers. The 
two associated funerary objects are two faunal bone fragments.
    From 1936 to 1940, human remains representing, at minimum, five 
individuals were removed from Nevin Shellheap (042.011) in Hancock 
County, ME, by Douglas Byers and Frederick Johnson. In March of 1941, 
the majority of the human remains removed by Byers and Johnson from the 
Nevin Shellheap were loaned to the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and 
Ethnology at Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. On June 28, 1989 and 
August 8, 1997, control of those human remains was transferred to 
Harvard University, and they were listed in a Notice of Inventory 
Completion published by Harvard University in the Federal Register on 
August 11, 2021 (86 FR 44038-44040, August 11, 2021). The fragmentary 
remains of the five individuals listed in this notice were 
inadvertently overlooked during the 1941, 1989, and 1997 transfers to 
Harvard University. They were identified as Native American human 
remains during an inventory project carried out at the Robert S. 
Peabody Institute between 2019 and 2021. The human remains belong to 
one subadult of unknown sex, one subadult female, two adult males, and 
one small adult of unknown sex. No known individuals were identified. 
On April 28, 2015, the Robert S. Peabody Institute listed 462 
associated funerary objects from this site in a Notice of Inventory 
Completion published in the Federal Register (80 FR 23582-23583, April 
28, 2015). During the 2019-2021 inventory project, it located an 
additional 655 associated funerary objects. The 655 additional 
associated funerary objects are two bone harpoons (including 
fragments), three modified faunal remains, three bone perforators 
(including fragments), 638 miscellaneous faunal remains, one unmodified 
stone, one stone projectile point, four dog burials, one pebble coated 
with red ochre, one lot of stone and soil matrix, and one ceramic 
sherd.
    In 1913, one associated funerary object was removed from Hodgkin's 
Point Shellheap in Hancock County, ME, by Warren K. Moorehead under the 
auspices of the Department of Archaeology at Phillips Academy. The 
human remains from Hodgkin's Point Shellheap were listed in a Notice of 
Inventory Completion published in the Federal Register on May 22, 1997 
(62 FR 28063-28064, May 22, 1997) and were subsequently transferred to 
the Passamaquoddy Tribe and the Penobscot Nation [previously listed as 
Penobscot Tribe of Maine]. During a recent inventory project, the 
associated funerary object, a faunal bone fragment, was identified.
    In 1956, two associated funerary objects were removed from Pond 
Island Site (041.030) in Hancock County, ME, by Douglas Byers. The 
human remains from Pond Island Site were listed in a Notice of 
Inventory Completion published in the Federal Register on November 21, 
2001 (66 FR 58522-58523, November 21, 2001) and were subsequently 
transferred to The Consulted Tribes. During a recent inventory project, 
the associated funerary objects, a beaver tooth and a ceramic sherd, 
were identified.
    In 1915, 27 associated funerary objects were removed from Holbrook 
Island in Hancock County, ME, by Warren K. Moorehead. The human remains 
from Holbrook Island were listed in a Notice of Inventory Completion 
published in the Federal Register on January 10, 1995 (60 FR 2611-2612, 
January 10, 1995) and were subsequently transferred to the 
Passamaquoddy Tribe and the Penobscot Nation [previously listed as 
Penobscot Tribe of Maine]. The Holbrook Island Site is believed to have 
been occupied between 900 and 1500 C.E. During a recent inventory 
project, the 27 associated funerary objects were identified. They are 
21 stone bifaces (including fragments), four modified faunal remains, 
and two unmodified faunal remains.
    In 1921, four associated funerary objects were removed from 
Ludlow's Point Shellheap in Hancock County, ME, by Warren K. Moorehead. 
The human remains from Ludlow's Point Shellheap were listed in a Notice 
of Inventory Completion published in the Federal Register on July 18, 
1995 (60 FR 36827, July 18, 1995) and were subsequently transferred to 
the Passamaquoddy Tribe and the Penobscot Nation [previously listed as 
Penobscot Tribe of Maine]. Ludlow's Point Shellheap is believed to have 
been occupied between 900 and 1500 C.E. During a recent inventory 
project, the associated funerary objects, four fragments of modified 
faunal remains, were identified.
    Past consultation with The Consulted Tribes has revealed compelling 
lines of evidence tying the Wabanaki to the land today known as Maine, 
New England, and the Canadian Maritimes. The Wabanki have lived 
uninterrupted on this land for over 12,000 years. Wabanaki oral history 
is often tied to specific landscape features, with language and stories 
reflecting a long presence in Maine. Archeological evidence has also 
established a cultural relationship between the Wabanaki and ancestral 
populations in that region.

Determinations Made by the Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology

    Officials of the Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology have 
determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of eight individuals of 
Native American ancestry.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the 727 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 to The Consulted 
Tribes.

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 Dr. Ryan J. Wheeler, Robert S. Peabody 
Institute of Archaeology, Phillips Academy, 180 Main Street, Andover, 
MA 01810, telephone (978) 749-4490, email [email protected], by 
March 3, 2022. After that date, if no additional requestors have come 
forward, transfer of control of the human remains and associated 
funerary objects to The Consulted Tribes may proceed.
    The Robert S. Peabody Institute is responsible for notifying The 
Consulted Tribes that this notice has been published.


[[Page 5503]]


    Dated: January 26, 2022.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2022-02037 Filed 1-31-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P