[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 242 (Tuesday, December 19, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 87801-87802]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-27793]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0037086; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: South Carolina Institute of 
Archaeology and Anthropology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, 
SC

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 South Carolina Institute of Archaeology 
and Anthropology (SCIAA) 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 Chester, Fairfield, Kershaw, Orangeburg, and Unknown Counties, SC.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects in this notice may occur on or after January 18, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Nina Schreiner, South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and 
Anthropology (SCIAA), College of Arts and Sciences, University of South 
Carolina, 1321 Pendleton Street, Columbia, SC 29208, 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 
SCIAA. 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 SCIAA.

Description

    In 1971, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual 
were removed from site 38CS2, Turkey Creek/McCollum Mound, Chester 
County, SC, by Mr. Thomas M. Ryan of SCIAA, with permission of property 
owner, Lockhart Power Company of Lockhart, SC. The four funerary 
objects are one lot consisting of shell material, one lot consisting of 
faunal material, one lot consisting of ceramic material, and one lot 
consisting of lithic material.
    At an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, two 
individuals were removed from the same site, 38CS2, Chester County, SC, 
by Mr. John R. Hart and Boy Scout Troop 35 of York, SC. Hart 
transferred the collection to SCIAA in 1980. The three funerary objects 
are one lot consisting of charcoal, one lot consisting of lithic 
material, and one lot consisting of faunal material.
    In 1992, human remains representing, at minimum, three individuals 
were removed from site 38FA204/205, Bear Creek, Fairfield County, SC, 
by Southeastern Archaeological Services (SAS), Inc., of Athens, Georgia 
under contract with Kennecott-Ridgeway Mining Company of Ridgeway, 
South Carolina. SAS transferred them to SCIAA in 1994. The one 
associated funerary object is one lot consisting of lithic material.
    In 1985, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual 
were removed from site 38KE11, Adamson Mounds, Kershaw County, SC, by 
Dr. Chester B. DePratter and Mr. Christopher Judge of the Department of 
Anthropology, University of South Carolina, Columbia with permission of 
the property owner. The Department of Anthropology transferred them to 
SCIAA in 1988. The three funerary objects are one lot consisting of 
faunal material, one lot consisting of lithic material, and one lot 
consisting of ceramic material.
    In 1951-52, one associated funerary object, a ceramic urn was 
removed from site 38KE11, Adamson Mounds, Kershaw County, SC, by an 
unknown individual and given to Mr. George Stuart, graduate student at 
the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH). Stuart 
transferred the object to UNC-CH Research Labs of Archaeology (RLA) in 
1975. Stuart acquired three additional associated funerary objects, one 
lot consisting of ceramic material, one lot consisting of shell 
material, and one lot consisting of lithic material, from 38KE11 at an 
unknown date and transferred them to RLA in 2012. RLA transferred the 
four associated funerary objects to SCIAA in 2023 to facilitate 
consultation and repatriation pursuant to, and in accordance with, the 
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.
    In 1991, human remains representing, at minimum, 23 individuals 
were removed from site 38KE18, Ferry Landing, Kershaw County, SC, by 
Dr. Chester B. DePratter and Dr. Ted A. Rathbun of SCIAA and the 
Department of Anthropology, University of South Carolina, Columbia with 
permission of the property owner. The five associated funerary objects 
are one lot consisting of ceramic material, one lot consisting of 
lithic material, one lot consisting of shell material, one lot 
consisting of botanical material, and one lot consisting of soil.
    In 1986, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual 
were removed from site 38OR122, SCHD Orangeburg 7, Orangeburg County, 
SC, by Ms. Olga Caballero of the South Carolina Department of Highways 
and Public Transportation during the U.S. 21 Borrow Pit Nos. 1 and 2 
investigations. SCHDPT transferred the collection to SCIAA in 1987. No 
associated funerary objects are present.
    At an unknown time, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from an unknown location in South Carolina by 
unknown means. The date of SCIAA acquisition is unknown. No associated 
funerary objects are present.
    At an unknown time, human remains representing, at minimum, four 
individuals were removed from an unknown location by unknown means. In 
1976, the estate of Mr. John A. May of Aiken, SC transferred them to 
the South Carolina State Museum in Columbia, SC. The State Museum 
transferred them to SCIAA in 1994. No associated funerary objects are 
present.

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: anthropological information, archeological information, 
and historical information.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, the SCIAA has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of 36 individuals of Native American ancestry.

[[Page 87802]]

     The 20 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 Catawba Indian Nation; 
Cherokee Nation; Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; The Muscogee (Creek) 
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 January 18, 2024. 
If competing requests for repatriation are received, the SCIAA 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 SCIAA is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to 
the Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations 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: December 8, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-27793 Filed 12-18-23; 8:45 am]
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