[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 175 (Tuesday, September 10, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73435-73436]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-20293]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0038667; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: University of Texas at San 
Antonio, Center for Archaeological Research, San Antonio, 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 University of Texas at San Antonio 
(UTSA) Center for Archaeological Research (CAR) 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 10, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Cynthia Munoz, Center for Archaeological Research (CAR), One 
UTSA Circle, San Antonio, TX 78249,

[[Page 73436]]

telephone (210) 458-4379, 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 
CAR, and additional information on the determinations in this notice, 
including the results of consultation, can be found in its inventory or 
related records. The National Park Service is not responsible for the 
determinations in this notice.

Abstract of Information Available

    Human remains representing, at least, 58 individuals have been 
identified. The 80 associated funerary objects are bone awls, bone 
beads, one possible bone bead, bone pins, one incised bone, modified 
bone, possibly modified bone, one shark tooth, one sting ray spine, one 
turtle shell, lithic bifaces, one lithic blade, one possible boatstone, 
lithic dart points, lithic debitage, red ochre (74 grams), marine 
shell, one modified shell, and shell pendants. The remains and 
associated funerary objects are associated with the 1990-1991 and 1997-
1998 Houston Archaeological Society archaeological investigations of 
41FB3, the Bowser Site, in Fort Bend County, Texas. The burials and 
objects were donated by the land owner to CAR in 2016. The land owner 
retained most of the grave goods. The remains consist of 13 adult 
females, 25 adult males, five adults of indeterminate sex, 13 
juveniles, and two individuals of indeterminate age and sex. The 
burials represent Native Americans from the Late Archaic Period, 2500 
BC-AD 600/700, based on dates of two burials obtained by the original 
investigators. Recovered point types, including Pedernales, Marshall, 
Gary, Kent, Morhiss, Ensor, and Ellis, are consistent with the time 
period. No known hazardous substances were used to treat the remains or 
objects.

Cultural Affiliation

    Based on the information available and the results of consultation, 
cultural affiliation is reasonably identified by the geographical 
location or acquisition history of the human remains and associated 
funerary objects described in this notice.

Determinations

    The CAR has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of 58 individuals of Native American ancestry.
     The 80 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 connection between the human remains and 
associated funerary objects described in this notice and the Tonkawa 
Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma.

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 an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization with 
cultural affiliation.
    Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects 
described in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after October 
10, 2024. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the CAR 
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 CAR 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 29, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-20293 Filed 9-9-24; 8:45 am]
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