[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 2 (Wednesday, January 3, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 387-389]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-28912]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0037156; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of the Interior, 
National Park Service, Hopewell Culture National Historical Park, 
Chillicothe, OH

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 U.S. Department of the Interior, 
National Park Service, Hopewell Culture National Historical Park 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 Ross County, OH.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects in this notice may occur on or after February 2, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Chris Alford, Superintendent, Hopewell Culture National 
Historical Park, 16062 State Route 104, Chillicothe, OH 45601, 
telephone (740) 774-1126, 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 
Superintendent, Hopewell Culture National Historical Park. Additional 
information on the determinations in this notice, including the results 
of consultation, can be found in the inventory or related records held 
by Hopewell Culture National Historical Park.

Description

    Human remains representing one individual were removed from the

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Higby Site, Ross County, OH, in or around 1962 by an unknown person. 
The human remains were gifted to Mound City Group National Monument 
(now Hopewell Culture National Historical Park) by L. D. Hurley in 
September 1962. The age of the human remains is unknown. No associated 
funerary objects are present.
    Human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed 
from the North 40 Site (33RO338; also known as the Drill Field Site), 
Ross County, OH in 1964 by National Park Service archeologist Richard 
Faust and were accessioned into the museum collection at Mound City 
Group National Monument (now Hopewell Culture National Historical 
Park). The age of the human remains is unknown. No associated funerary 
objects are present.
    Human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed 
from Maurice Eugene Morrison's farm in the vicinity of archeological 
sites 33RO0120 and 33RO121, Ross County, OH in 1965 by National Park 
Service archeologist Lee Hanson and were accessioned into the museum 
collection at Mound City Group National Monument (now Hopewell Culture 
National Historical Park). The age of the human remains is unknown. No 
associated funerary objects are present.
    Human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed 
from the property of Robert Williamson, Ross County, OH in 1966 during 
excavations by National Park Service archeologist Lee Hanson and Rev. 
Arthur Hayes and were accessioned into the museum collection at Mound 
City Group National Monument (now Hopewell Culture National Historical 
Park). Based on the limited excavation records and the funerary 
objects, the human remains most probably date to the Early Woodland or 
Middle Woodland period. The 11 associated funerary objects are one 
ceramic sherd, one retouched flake, two soil samples, and seven 
charcoal fragments.
    Human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed 
from or near the Baum Earthworks, Ross County, OH, in the 1970s during 
the excavation of a utility trench. The human remains were gifted to 
Hopewell Culture National Historical Park in 1995 by Bill Anderson Jr. 
The age of the human remains is unknown. No associated funerary objects 
are present.
    Human remains representing, at minimum, five individuals were most 
probably removed from an unknown site in or near Ross County, OH at an 
unknown date. The human remains were located within the collections at 
Hopewell Culture National Historical Park in 1990 and 1996 with no 
known provenience. The age of the human remains is unknown. No 
associated funerary objects are present.
    Human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed 
from the Overly Site (33RO110), Ross County, OH in 1995 by an Ohio 
State University archeological field school. The site is located on 
private land. The National Park Service acquired the human remains 
through a cooperative agreement with the university. An osteological 
analysis concluded the human remains were a 30-40 year old Native 
American male. A radiocarbon date obtained on wood charcoal from the 
pit suggests the individual likely lived in the Archaic period, ca. 
2000-1650 BCE. The 21 associated funerary objects are three collections 
of red ocher, one piece of limestone, and 17 samples of charcoal.
    Human remains representing, at minimum, two individuals were 
removed from the Overly Site (33RO110), Ross County, OH by National 
Park Service archeologist Bret J. Ruby in 1996. The site is located on 
private land. These human remains were collected from the surface of 
the site, having been disturbed by graveling operations. The National 
Park Service acquired these human remains through a donation from the 
landowner. The age of the human remains is unknown. No associated 
funerary objects are present.
    Human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed 
from an unknown site on private property, Ross County, OH during a 
construction project in the 1970s. These human remains and the objects 
recovered alongside them were donated to Hopewell Culture National 
Historical Park in 1996 by a local resident, Jack Hatton. The age of 
the human remains is unknown. The 49 associated funerary objects are 
one quartz stone, one chert tool, one piece of chert debitage, and 46 
pieces of fire-cracked rock.

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, 
geographical information, historical information, linguistics, oral 
tradition.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, Hopewell Culture National Historical Park has determined 
that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of 14 individuals of Native American ancestry.
     The 81 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 Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of 
Indians of Oklahoma; Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma; Match-e-be-
nash-she-wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians of Michigan; Miami Tribe of 
Oklahoma; Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi, Michigan; Shawnee 
Tribe; and The Osage Nation.

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 February 2, 2024. 
If competing requests for repatriation are received, Hopewell Culture 
National Historical Park 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. Hopewell Culture National Historical Park 
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

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regulations, 43 CFR 10.9, 10.10, and 10.14.

    Dated: December 20, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-28912 Filed 1-2-24; 8:45 am]
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