[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 31 (Wednesday, February 15, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9904-9905]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-03235]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0035337; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Antonio J. Waring, Jr. 
Archaeological Laboratory, University of West Georgia, Carrollton, GA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and 
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Antonio J. Waring, Jr. Archaeological 
Laboratory has completed an inventory of human remains and has 
determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human 
remains and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this 
notice. The human remains were removed from Douglas County, GA.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains in this notice may occur on or 
after March 17, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Dr. Nathan R. Lawres, Laboratory Director, Antonio J. 
Waring, Jr. Archaeological Laboratory, University of West Georgia, 1601 
Maple Street, Carrollton, GA 30118, telephone (678) 839-6454, email 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice is published as part of the 
National Park Service's administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA. 
The determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of the 
Antonio J. Waring, Jr. Archaeological Laboratory. The National Park 
Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice. 
Additional information on the determinations in this notice, including 
the results of consultation, can be found in the inventory or related 
records held by the Antonio J. Waring, Jr. Archaeological Laboratory.

Description

    In the summer of 1972, human remains representing, at minimum, two 
individuals were removed from the Annewakee Creek Site (9DO2) in 
Douglas County, GA, by Dr. Roy Dickens, a faculty member of the 
Anthropology Department at Georgia State University. Dickens reported 
on these excavations in the Southeastern Archaeological Conference 
Bulletin, No. 18, pp. 31-42 (see particularly pp. 36-38). Commenting on 
these human remains, Dickens stated, ``No burials were found in the 
1972 excavations although the owner had recovered two partial skeletons 
in his initial grading operations'' (Dickens, 1975:38). The collection 
was acquired by the Antonio J. Waring Archaeological Laboratory, 
University of West Georgia, through a transfer of archeological 
collections and records from Georgia State University to West Georgia 
College, presently the University of West Georgia. This transfer took 
place in the summer of 1991, following the termination of the 
archeological component of the anthropology program of Georgia State 
University. Incomplete copies of skeletal inventories conducted at the 
Georgia State University Laboratory of Archaeology by R. Johnson on 
October 11, 1973, are the only records that accompany the Annewakee 
Creek Mound Collection. No known individuals were identified. No 
associated funerary objects are present.
    Officials of the Antonio J. Waring Archaeological Laboratory have 
determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains 
described in this notice a represent the physical remains of two 
individuals of Native American ancestry based on morphological traits 
of the human remains and the archeological context from which they were 
recovered. The archeological context suggests a Middle Woodland Period 
chronological association, and on the basis of the ceramic types 
present, the human remains most likely date to A.D. 300-600. 
Additionally, there is a \14\C date of A.D. 605  85 
[GX2825] that was obtained from charred wood associated with Middle 
Woodland Period ceramics.
    Further assessment of the human remains and associated collections 
was made by Antonio J. Waring, Jr. Archaeological Laboratory 
professional staff in consultation with members of the STARR Alliance, 
including representatives of the Cherokee Nation; Coushatta Tribe of 
Louisiana; Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; Mississippi Band of 
Choctaw Indians; Seminole Tribe of Florida; The Choctaw Nation of 
Oklahoma; The Muscogee (Creek) Nation; and The Seminole Nation of 
Oklahoma.

Cultural Affiliation

    The human remains in this notice are connected to one or more 
identifiable earlier groups, tribes, peoples, or cultures. There is a 
relationship of shared group identity between the identifiable earlier 
groups, tribes, peoples, or cultures and one or more Indian Tribes or 
Native Hawaiian organizations. The following types of information were 
used to reasonably trace the relationship: archeological, geographical, 
oral traditional, expert opinion, and other relevant information.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, the Antonio J. Waring, Jr. Archaeological Laboratory has 
determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of two individuals of Native American ancestry.
     There is a relationship of shared group identity that can 
be reasonably traced between the human remains and associated funerary 
objects described in this notice and the Kialegee Tribal Town; 
Miccosukee Tribe of Indians; Poarch Band of Creek Indians; Seminole 
Tribe of Florida; The Muscogee (Creek) Nation; The Seminole Nation of 
Oklahoma; and the Thlopthlocco Tribal Town.

[[Page 9905]]

Requests for Repatriation

    Written requests for repatriation of the human remains in this 
notice must be sent to the Responsible Official identified in 
ADDRESSES. Requests for repatriation may be submitted by:
    1. Any one or more of the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian 
organizations identified in this notice.
    2. Any lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian 
organization not identified in this notice who shows, by a 
preponderance of the evidence, that the requestor is a lineal 
descendant or a culturally affiliated Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian 
organization.
    Repatriation of the human remains in this notice to a requestor may 
occur on or after March 17, 2023. If competing requests for 
repatriation are received, the Antonio J. Waring, Jr. Archaeological 
Laboratory must determine the most appropriate requestor prior to 
repatriation. Requests for joint repatriation of the human remains are 
considered a single request and not competing requests. The Antonio J. 
Waring, Jr. Archaeological Laboratory is responsible for sending a copy 
of this notice to the Indian Tribes identified in this notice.
    Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 
25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.9, 10.10, 
and 10.14.

    Dated: February 8, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-03235 Filed 2-14-23; 8:45 am]
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