[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 170 (Tuesday, September 3, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71394-71396]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-19680]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0038625; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Museum of Texas Tech University, 
Lubbock, TX

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 Museum of Texas Tech University 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.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects in this notice may occur on or after October 3, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Dr. Eileen Johnson, Museum of Texas Tech University, 3301 
4th Street, Lubbock, TX 79415, telephone (806) 742-2442, email 
[email protected]. Mailing Address: Dr. Eileen Johnson, Museum of 
Texas Tech University, Box 43191, Lubbock, TX 79409.

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 
Museum of Texas Tech University, and additional information on the 
determinations in this notice, including the results of consultation, 
can be found in the inventory or related records. The National Park 
Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.

Abstract of Information Available

    Based on the information available, human remains representing, at 
least, 106 individuals have been reasonably identified. The 249 
associated funerary objects are: a bowl; Olivella shell beads; lithic 
objects; potsherds; bone tools; faunal remains; clam/mussel shell; 
wood; and unworked stone.
    In 1930 and 1931, human skeletal remains representing at least 20 
adult and juvenile individuals were unearthed under the supervision of 
Dr. William Curry Holden (Museum Director 1929-1969) from the Ancestral 
Pueblo of Tecolte (LA296) in San Miguel County, New Mexico. Accessioned 
by the Museum between

[[Page 71395]]

1930 and 1939, and in 1940. The 47 associated funerary objects are: a 
shaft straightener; stone drill; bifaces; lithic debris; potsherds; 
awls; antler punch; bone gouge or scraper; faunal remains; clam/mussel 
shell; wood pieces; and unworked stone.
    In 1939, human skeletal remains representing at least five adult 
individuals were unearthed under the supervision of Dr. William Curry 
Holden (Museum Director 1929-1969) from the Ancestral Pueblo of 
Arrowhead (LA251) near Glorietta, New Mexico. Accessioned by the Museum 
in 1939 and 1940. The one associated funerary object is a non-human 
vertebra.
    In 1950 through 1954, human skeletal remains representing at least 
40 adult, juvenile, and infant individuals were unearthed under the 
supervision of Jane Holden Kelley (Museum employee) from the Ancestral 
Pueblo of Bonnell (LA612) near Glencoe, New Mexico. Accessioned by the 
Museum in 1950 and 1951. The 201 associated funerary objects include a 
Chupadero Black-on-White bowl found covering the face of a juvenile 
individual and 200 Olivella shell beads found around the neck of the 
same individual.
    A human skull representing one juvenile individual was stolen from 
the Museum by a student worker in 1970 and returned anonymously by mail 
in 1994 with a hand-written note of explanation. No identifying 
information was present with the skull. Four juvenile burials described 
by Jane Holden Kelley from the Ancestral Pueblo of Bonnell have not 
been matched conclusively with Bonnell material. Based on the age 
profile of the unmatched burials from Bonnell, the overall age 
demographic of the human skeletal remains from Bonnell, and the age of 
this individual, it is highly likely that this skull is from the 
Bonnell Collection and may be associated with other skeletal elements 
in the collection.
    In 1955, human skeletal remains representing at least one juvenile 
individual were unearthed under the supervision of Jane Holden Kelley 
(Museum employee) from the Ancestral Pueblo of Bonnell B near Glencoe, 
New Mexico. Bonnell B is directly next to the main Bonnell excavation 
and is described by Kelley as contemporaneous. Accessioned by the 
Museum in 1955. No associated funerary objects are present.
    In 1955, human skeletal remains representing at least one adult 
individual were unearthed under the supervision of Jane Holden Kelley 
(Museum employee) from the Ancestral Pueblo of Turner/Phillips (LA1537) 
near White Oaks, New Mexico.
    Additionally, human skeletal remains representing at least one 
juvenile individual have been identified as possibly from the Ancestral 
Pueblo of Turner/Phillips (LA1537). Accessioned by the Museum in 1955. 
No associated funerary objects are present.
    In 1954, human skeletal remains representing at least 10 adult and 
juvenile individuals were unearthed under the supervision of Jane 
Holden Kelley (Museum employee) from the Ancestral Pueblo of Bloom 
Mound (LA2528), 14 miles southwest of Roswell, New Mexico. Kelley notes 
that none of the human remains from Bloom Mound were intentional 
burials. Most were found under collapsed roofs, in roof debris, or in 
room fill, often in sprawled positions, and with evidence of burning. 
Accessioned by the Museum in 1955. No associated funerary objects are 
present.
    In 1954, human skeletal remains representing at least two 
individuals (one adult and one juvenile) were unearthed under the 
supervision of Jane Holden Kelley (Museum employee) from the Ancestral 
Pueblo of Hiner (LA176565) near Corona, New Mexico. Accessioned by the 
Museum in 1958. No associated funerary objects are present.
    In the 1950s, human skeletal remains representing at least three 
individuals (one adult, one juvenile, and one infant) were unearthed 
under the supervision of Jane Holden Kelley (Museum employee) from 
Ancestral Pueblo sites along the Upper and Middle Pe[ntilde]asco River. 
The remains have been identified as coming from one of two possible 
sites (Site 2000 or Mayhill Site 2). Accessioned by the Museum in 1958. 
No associated funerary objects are present.
    In 1956, human skeletal remains representing at least 18 adults, 
juveniles, and infants were unearthed under the supervision of Jane 
Holden Kelley (Museum employee) from the Ancestral Pueblo of Block 
Lookout (LA2112) in Lincoln County, New Mexico. Kelley noted that the 
site was badly looted and many human skeletal elements were found 
scattered around pot-holes. Only six individuals were found in-situ. 
Accessioned by the Museum in 1958. No associated funerary objects are 
present.
    In the 1950, human skeletal remains representing four individuals 
were unearthed from various sites in the Sierra Blanca region of New 
Mexico under the supervision of Jane Holden Kelley (Museum employee). 
The human skeletal remains representing one adult, one juvenile, and 
two infant individuals from the Sierra Blanca Collection cannot be 
associated to specific sites. All the Sierra Blanca Collection sites 
with human remains are Ancestral Pueblos. No associated funerary 
objects are present.

Cultural Affiliation

    Based on the information available and the results of consultation, 
cultural affiliation is clearly identified by the information available 
about the human remains and associated funerary objects described in 
this notice.

Determinations

    The Museum of Texas Tech University has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of 106 individuals of Native American ancestry.
     The 249 objects described in this notice are reasonably 
believed to have been placed intentionally with or near individual 
human remains at the time of death or later as part of the death rite 
or ceremony.
     There is a reasonable connection between the human remains 
and associated funerary objects described in this notice and the Hopi 
Tribe of Arizona; Ohkay Owingeh, New Mexico; Pueblo of Acoma, New 
Mexico; Pueblo of Cochiti, New Mexico; Pueblo of Isleta, New Mexico; 
Pueblo of Jemez, New Mexico; Pueblo of Laguna, New Mexico; Pueblo of 
Nambe, New Mexico; Pueblo of Picuris, New Mexico; Pueblo of Pojoaque, 
New Mexico; Pueblo of San Felipe, New Mexico; Pueblo of San Ildefonso, 
New Mexico; Pueblo of Sandia, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa Ana, New 
Mexico; Pueblo of Santa Clara, New Mexico; Pueblo of Taos, New Mexico; 
Pueblo of Tesuque, New Mexico; Pueblo of Zia, New Mexico; Santo Domingo 
Pueblo; Ysleta del Sur Pueblo; and the Zuni Tribe of the Zuni 
Reservation, New Mexico.

Requests for Repatriation

    Written requests for repatriation of the human remains and 
associated funerary objects in this notice must be sent to the 
authorized representative identified in this notice under 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

[[Page 71396]]

notice to a requestor may occur on or after October 3, 2024. If 
competing requests for repatriation are received, the Museum of Texas 
Tech University 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 Museum of Texas Tech University 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 10.10.

    Dated: August 26, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-19680 Filed 8-30-24; 8:45 am]
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