[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 126 (Friday, July 1, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39551-39553]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-14093]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0034117; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: University of New Hampshire, 
Durham, NH

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The University of New Hampshire has completed an inventory of 
human remains and an associated funerary object 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 object and present-day Indian Tribes or 
Native

[[Page 39552]]

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 this associated funerary object should submit a written request to 
the University of New Hampshire. If no additional requestors come 
forward, transfer of control of the human remains and this associated 
funerary object 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 this associated 
funerary object should submit a written request with information in 
support of the request to the University of New Hampshire at the 
address in this notice by August 1, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Lisa MacFarlane, University of New 
Hampshire, Department of English, Hamilton Smith Hall, 95 Main Street, 
Durham, NH 03824, telephone (603) 862-1313, 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 an 
associated funerary object under the control of the University of New 
Hampshire, Durham, NH. The human remains and associated funerary object 
were removed from Adams Point in Durham, Strafford County, NH.
    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 object. 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 New Hampshire professional staff in consultation with 
representatives of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) and the 
following non-federally recognized Indian groups: Abenaki Nation of New 
Hampshire; Cowasuck Band of the Pennacook-Abenaki People; Ko'asek 
(Co'wasuck) Traditional Band of the Sovereign Abenaki Nation; and the 
Koasek (Cowasuck) Traditional Band of the Sovereign Abenaki Nation. In 
addition, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe (previously listed as Mashpee 
Wampanoag Indian Tribal Council, Inc.); Mohegan Tribe of Indians of 
Connecticut (previously listed as Mohegan Indian Tribe of Connecticut); 
Narragansett Indian Tribe; Passamaquoddy Tribe; Penobscot Nation 
(previously listed as Penobscot Tribe of Maine); Stockbridge Munsee 
Community, Wisconsin; and three non-federally recognized Indian 
groups--the Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi (St. Francis/Sokoki Band); 
Koasek of the Koas of the Abenaki Nation; and Nulhegan Band of the 
Coosuk Abenaki Nation--were invited to consult but did not participate. 
Hereafter, all the Indian Tribes and groups listed in this section are 
referred to as ``The Consulted and Invited Tribes and Groups.''

History and Description of the Remains

    Sometime in 1991, 1992, or 1994, human remains representing, at 
minimum, one individual were removed by archeologist Harold Hecker from 
Adams Point in Durham, Strafford County, NH. During 2019, when UNH 
reexamined every box in its collection, a tooth recorded as missing in 
an earlier UNH inventory was discovered. A petrous bone fragment was 
found in proximity to the tooth. Initially, it had been identified as 
faunal, but after in-depth research it was identified as human. The 
tooth and skull bone fragment most likely are from the same juvenile 
individual. The deciduous tooth and piece of skull (i.e., petrous bone) 
belong to a juvenile of unknown sex. No known individual was 
identified. The one associated funerary object is a whole Jack's reef 
corner notched point made of jasper, a non-local lithic material, which 
was found in close proximity to the two human skeletal elements.
    Adams Point lies in the Great Bay Estuary, a tidally dominated 
system that starts at the Atlantic Ocean with the Piscataqua River. As 
the Piscataqua River runs inland, it splits at a neck of land called 
today ``Dover Point.'' From there, eastward, it leads to Little Bay, 
which tightens at a strait (Furber Strait) before opening south to the 
Great Bay, the broad inner bay of the whole system. Adams Point is a 
jut of land at this strait, surrounded to the southwest by Crommet 
Creek, which confluxes with Great Bay at Adams Point. During his work 
at the site, Dr. Hecker identified four precontact sites, all in close 
proximity to each other. They are NH 40-14, NH 40-48, NH 40-4, and NH 
40-50. Since Hecker's work, archeology has experienced a major shift 
from site-based approaches to landscape-scale perspectives.
    The human remains listed in this notice came from NH 40-14. The 
site on this striking landform is located at a convergence zone of 
multiple waterscapes. Based on the cultural materials recovered--no C14 
dating was done--Dr. Hecker concluded that the site dated predominantly 
to the late Middle Woodland Period (ca. A.D. 600-1000) with a small 
early Late Woodland component (ca. A.D. 1000-1200). He concluded the 
site was a locale that hosted short term occupations in late spring/
early summer. As the site is located at the confluence of waterways, 
Hecker suggested it might have been a trading location where multiple 
precontact indigenous communities gathered. Indeed, given its location, 
Adams Point was accessible to multiple historically recorded groups, 
such as the Pennacook, the Abenaki, the Massachuset, and the Wampanoag, 
either because of proximity of territorial boundaries, or during 
seasonal rounds. The associated funerary object made of jasper likely 
was quarried in Eastern Pennsylvania, although jasper outcrops do exist 
in Massachusetts. Its presence testifies to the movement of precontact 
indigenous peoples in the region across vast waterways and landscapes. 
In the post-contact colonial period, when violence swept through 
southern New England, such as during King Philip's War, these long-
established networks of relations were relied on by indigenous peoples 
from Massachusetts seeking refuge in the Great Bay Estuary, including 
Wampanoag peoples.

Determinations Made by the University of New Hampshire

    Officials of the University of New Hampshire have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of one individual of 
Native American ancestry.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the one object described 
in this notice is 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 object and the Wampanoag 
Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah).

[[Page 39553]]

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 object should submit a written request with information in 
support of the request to Dr. Lisa MacFarlane, University of New 
Hampshire, Department of English, Hamilton Smith Hall, 95 Main Street, 
Durham, NH 03824, telephone (603) 862-1313, email 
[email protected], by August 1, 2022. After that date, if no 
additional requestors have come forward, transfer of control of the 
human remains and associated funerary object to the Wampanoag Tribe of 
Gay Head (Aquinnah) may proceed.
    The University of New Hampshire is responsible for notifying The 
Consulted and Invited Tribes and Groups that this notice has been 
published.

    Dated: June 16, 2022.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2022-14093 Filed 6-30-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P