[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 47 (Friday, March 10, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15074-15075]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-04899]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0035449; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Tennessee Department of 
Environment and Conservation, Division of Archaeology, Nashville, TN

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 Tennessee Department of Environment and 
Conservation, Division of Archaeology (TDEC-DOA) has completed an 
inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects and has 
determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human 
remains and associated funerary objects and Indian Tribes or Native 
Hawaiian organizations in this notice. The human remains and associated 
funerary objects were removed from Hardin, Lincoln, Madison, Obion, 
Perry, Tipton, and Williamson Counties, TN.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects in this notice may occur on or after April 10, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Phillip R. Hodge, Tennessee Department of Environment and 
Conservation, Division of Archaeology, 1216 Foster Avenue, Cole 
Building #3, Nashville, TN 37243, telephone (615) 626-2025, 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 
TDEC-DOA. 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 TDEC-DOA.

Description

    In 1969, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual 
were removed from site 40HR35 in Hardin County, TN, by archeologists 
associated with then Memphis State University (now the University of 
Memphis). In 1995, the human remains of this individual were 
accessioned into the TDEC-DOA's repository and transferred into its 
possession. No additional information is available regarding the 
curation history at the University of

[[Page 15075]]

Memphis nor the subsequent transfer to the TDEC-DOA. No known 
individual was identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    In 1975, human remains representing, at minimum, 24 individuals 
were removed from site 40LN16 in Lincoln County, TN, by archeologists 
with the TDEC-DOA prior to construction of the Lincoln County High 
School. The TDEC-DOA's 1975 excavations at this site were conducted 
under the permission of the landowner, the Lincoln County Board of 
Education. No known individuals were identified. The five associated 
funerary objects are one lot of shale fragments, one lot of fragments 
of a limestone-tempered ceramic vessel, one rectangular stone, one 
galena cube, and one lot of mica fragments.
    In 1963, 1981, and 1983, human remains representing, at minimum, 24 
individuals were removed from site 40MD1 in Madison County, TN, by 
archeologists with the TDEC-DOA. No known individuals were identified. 
The 1,524 associated funerary objects are 986 freshwater pearl beads, 
529 marine columella beads, two bone rattles containing quartzite 
pebbles, two lithic fragments, one bone awl, one bone pin, one green 
schist pendant, one sheet of mica, and one green schist ``boatstone'' 
vessel.
    In 1985, human remains representing, at minimum, 95 individuals 
were removed from site 40OB6 in Obion County, TN, by archeologists with 
Arrow Enterprises of Bowling Green, KY, under contract to the U.S. Soil 
Conservation Service. The human remains were accessioned into TDEC-
DOA's repository the same year. No known individuals were identified. 
The 56 associated funerary objects are 25 marine shell beads, 11 pieces 
of lithic debitage, shatter, and fire-cracked rock, nine ceramic 
vessels, four ceramic sherds, one projectile point/knife, one piece of 
marine shell whelk, two lithic flakes, one stone effigy pipe, one 
carbon sample, and one stone discoidal.
    Human remains representing, at minimum, 35 individuals were removed 
from Perry County, TN. Human remains belonging to 15 of these 
individuals were recovered from 40PY207 in secondary contexts along the 
Tennessee River by park rangers with Tennessee State Parks. These human 
remains were transferred to TDEC-DOA in 1991 and 1997. Human remains 
belonging to 17 of these individuals were excavated by Memphis State 
University between 1972 and 1976. No documentation is available to 
explain why these human remains were accessioned into TDEC-DOA's 
repository. No information exists regarding the provenance of the human 
remains belonging to three of these individuals or the circumstances 
under which they were accessioned into TDEC-DOA's repository. No known 
individuals were identified. The 24 associated funerary objects include 
21 unidentified faunal long bones, two turkey tarsometatarsi, and one 
projectile point/knife.
    Human remains representing, at minimum, one individual was removed 
from Tipton County, TN. The human remains had eroded from the bank of 
the Hatchie River at site 40TP1. They were found by rangers with the 
Hatchie National Wildlife Refuge on January 1, 1979, and were 
transferred the TDEC-DOA the same day. No known individual was 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    In 1979, human remains representing, at minimum, six individuals 
were removed from site 40WM33 in Williamson County, TN. These remains 
were excavated by volunteer avocational archeologists working under the 
auspices of the TDEC-DOA prior to road construction. The TDEC-DOA 
accessioned the human remains and an associated funerary object on 
December 11, 1979. No known individuals were identified. The one 
associated funerary object is a partially reconstructed ceramic jar.

Cultural Affiliation

    The human remains and associated funerary objects 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: geographical and historical.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, the TDEC-DOA has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of 186 individuals of Native American ancestry.
     The 1,610 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.
     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 Cherokee Nation; Eastern Band 
of Cherokee Indians; The Chickasaw Nation; and the United Keetoowah 
Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma.

Requests for Repatriation

    Written requests for repatriation of the human remains and 
associated funerary objects 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 and associated funerary objects 
in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after April 10, 2023. If 
competing requests for repatriation are received, the TDEC-DOA must 
determine the most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. 
Requests for joint repatriation of the human remains and associated 
funerary objects are considered a single request and not competing 
requests. The TDEC-DOA 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: March 1, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-04899 Filed 3-9-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P