[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 144 (Friday, July 28, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Page 48913]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-16065]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0036253; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


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

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 Robert S. Peabody Institute of 
Archaeology has completed an inventory of associated funerary objects 
and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the 
associated funerary objects and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian 
organizations in this notice. The associated funerary objects were 
removed from Essex County, MA.

DATES: Repatriation of the associated funerary objects in this notice 
may occur on or after August 28, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Ryan Wheeler, Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology, 
Phillips Academy, 180 Main Street, Andover, MA 01810, telephone (978) 
749-4493, 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 
Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology. 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 Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology.

Description

    In 1890, Dr. F. Humphrey removed human remains and associated 
funerary objects from an unknown site in Ipswich, Essex County, MA. 
Subsequently, he transferred them to the Robert S. Peabody Institute of 
Archaeology. In 1963, the Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology 
transferred the human remains associated with the funerary objects to 
the Harvard Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology (see 87 FR 69317-
69326, November 18, 2022). The 32 associated funerary objects are one 
stone adze; two stone axes; two chipped stone objects; one bone fish 
hook; two stone gouges; three grooved stones; five ground stone 
objects; five hammer stones; two modified stones; two stone pestles; 
five stone plummets; one roundstone; and one soapstone fragment.
    At unknown date, Thomas Clegg removed human remains and associated 
funerary objects from the Merrimac Valley near Lawrence, Essex County, 
MA. Subsequently, he transferred them to the Robert S. Peabody 
Institute of Archaeology. In 1963, the Robert S. Peabody Institute of 
Archaeology transferred the human remains associated with the funerary 
objects to the Harvard Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology (see 
87 FR 69317-69326, November 18, 2022). The 17 associated funerary 
objects are one broken gouge; one fragment of a ground stone object; 
one lot consisting of ceramic sherds; six lots consisting of chipped 
objects and object fragments; one lot consisting of points and point 
fragments; one lot consisting of stone bifaces; one lot consisting of 
stone drills; one lot consisting of stone points and fragments; one 
perforated stone; one perforated stone or pendant; one soapstone 
fragment; and one stone knife.

Cultural Affiliation

    The 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: 
archeological, biological, geographical, historical, linguistic, oral 
traditional, and expert opinion.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, the Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology has 
determined that:
     The 49 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 associated funerary objects described 
in this notice and the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and the Wampanoag Tribe 
of Gay Head (Aquinnah).

Requests for Repatriation

    Written requests for repatriation of the 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 identified in this notice 
and, if joined to a request from one or more of the Indian Tribes, the 
Assonet Band of the Wampanoag Nation, a non-federally recognized Indian 
group.
    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 associated funerary objects in this notice to a 
requestor may occur on or after August 28, 2023. If competing requests 
for repatriation are received, the Robert S. Peabody Institute of 
Archaeology must determine the most appropriate requestor prior to 
repatriation. Requests for joint repatriation of the associated 
funerary objects are considered a single request and not competing 
requests. The Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology 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: July 19, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-16065 Filed 7-27-23; 8:45 am]
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