[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 205 (Wednesday, October 25, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73368-73369]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-23548]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0036805; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


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

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice; amendment.

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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 amended a Notice of Inventory Completion published in 
the Federal Register on February 26, 2015. This notice amends the 
number of associated funerary objects in a collection removed from 
Middlesex County, MA.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects in this notice may occur on or after November 24, 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 amendments and 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.

Amendment

    This notice amends the determinations published in a Notice of 
Inventory Completion in the Federal Register (80 FR 10501-10505, 
February 26, 2015). Repatriation of the items in the original Notice of 
Inventory Completion has not occurred. In late November 2022, the 
Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology received additional 
archeological material amassed by the late Eugene Winter. The cremated 
remains of one or more individuals from the Poznick site (19-MD-47, 19-
MD-158) were identified, along with associated funerary objects from 
the Poznick site and the Call site (19-MD-37).
    From the Poznick Site (also known as Trull Farm and Meghann Lane, 
19-MD-

[[Page 73369]]

47, 19-MD-158) in Middlesex County, MA, two individuals were removed 
(previously identified as one individual). The 40 funerary objects 
(previously identified as 0 associated funerary objects) are two 
ceramic sherds; five lots consisting of lithics; one lot consisting of 
bone fragments; four lots consisting of lithic debitage; three lots 
consisting of unmodified stone; one lot consisting of bone fragments, 
ceramic sherds and charcoal; one lot consisting of ground stone 
objects, possible hammerstones, lithic flakes/debitage, quartz flakes, 
ceramic sherds, bone fragments, and unmodified stones; 17 lots 
consisting of lithics, debitage, ceramic sherds, charcoal, soil, and 
ground stone tools; one lot consisting of quartz flakes, flake shatter, 
ground stone objects, and soil; one lot consisting of a quartz scraper, 
flake shatter, and unmodified stones; and four soil samples.
    From the Call Site (19-MD-37) in Middlesex County, MA, 69 funerary 
objects are identified as associated with the remains of the two 
individuals identified in the previous notice (previously, 66 
associated funerary objects were identified). These associated funerary 
objects are two chipped stone projectile points, two pottery sherds, 
six burned animal bone fragments, two small flat pebbles, one charcoal 
sample, 43 chipped stone flakes, 10 unmodified rocks, and three soil 
samples.

Determinations (as Amended)

    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 human remains represent the physical remains of 16 
individuals of Native American ancestry.
     The 186 objects described in this amended 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 Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, and 
the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah).

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 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 human remains and associated funerary objects 
in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after November 24, 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 
human remains and 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, 
10.13, and 10.14.

    Dated: October 18, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-23548 Filed 10-24-23; 8:45 am]
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