Notice of Inventory Completion: Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 7119-7121 [2019-03568]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
• National Park Service

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 41 (Friday, March 1, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7119-7121]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-03568]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0027261; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Arizona State Museum, University 
of Arizona, Tucson, AZ

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona (ASM) has 
completed an inventory of human remains, in consultation with the 
appropriate Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations, and has 
determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human 
remains and present-day Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. 
Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian tribe or Native 
Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice

[[Page 7120]]

that wish to request transfer of control of these human remains should 
submit a written request to the ASM. If no additional requestors come 
forward, transfer of control of the human remains to the lineal 
descendants, Indian Tribes, or Native Hawaiian organizations stated in 
this notice may proceed.

DATES: Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian Tribe or 
Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to 
request transfer of control of these human remains should submit a 
written request with information in support of the request to the ASM 
at the address in this notice by April 1, 2019.

ADDRESSES: John McClelland, NAGPRA Coordinator, P.O. Box 210026, 
Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, 
telephone (520) 626-2950.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is here given in accordance with the 
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25 
U.S.C. 3003, of the completion of an inventory of human remains under 
the control of the Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson, 
AZ. The human remains and associated funerary objects were removed from 
Pima County, AZ.
    This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's 
administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA, 25 U.S.C. 3003(d)(3). The 
determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of the 
museum, institution, or Federal agency that has control of the Native 
American human remains. The National Park Service is not responsible 
for the determinations in this notice.

Consultation

    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by the ASM 
professional staff in consultation with representatives of the Ak-Chin 
Indian Community (previously listed as the Ak Chin Indian Community of 
the Maricopa (Ak Chin) Indian Reservation, Arizona); Cocopah Tribe of 
Arizona; Gila River Indian Community of the Gila River Indian 
Reservation, Arizona; Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Pascua Yaqui Tribe of 
Arizona; Quechan Tribe of the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation, California 
& Arizona; Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community of the Salt River 
Reservation, Arizona; Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona; and the Zuni 
Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico (hereafter referred to as 
``The Consulted Tribes'').

History and Description of the Remains

    In 1981, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual 
were removed from an unrecorded location, AZ Y:2:0, located in Yuma 
County, AZ, during a legally authorized survey of Arizona State Trust 
lands conducted by the ASM under the direction of Richard Lange. The 
survey was conducted in advance of a proposed agricultural lease. The 
designation AZ Y:2:0 was used to refer to isolated artifacts collected 
outside the boundaries of recorded archeological sites within the 
survey area. No human burials were reported at the time of the survey. 
Collections from this survey were received by ASM in 1981, and were 
assigned an accession number in 1995. In 2010, museum staff discovered 
these human remains in the site survey collections. No known 
individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects are 
present.
    Recorded sites in the vicinity of these human remains were reported 
to contain a mixture of Yuman and Hohokam material culture including, 
but not limited to, Colorado Buff Ware ceramics. The condition of the 
human remains is consistent with Yuman and Hohokam mortuary practices. 
Archeologists describe the earliest settlements in Southern Arizona as 
belonging to the Late Archaic/Early Agricultural horizon. Recent 
archeological investigations have added support to the hypothesis that 
the Hohokam cultural tradition arose from this earlier horizon, based 
on continuities in settlement pattern, architectural technologies, 
irrigation technologies, subsistence patterns, and material culture. It 
has been difficult for archeologists to date the beginning of the 
Hohokam period because the appearance of its distinctive cultural 
traits, such as ceramic technologies and mortuary patterns, was a 
gradual process spanning several hundred years. This gradualism adds 
further support to the hypothesis that the Hohokam tradition evolved in 
place from earlier Late Archaic traditions. Linguistic evidence 
furthermore suggests that the Hohokam tradition was multiethnic in 
nature. Cultural continuity between these prehistoric occupants of 
Southern Arizona and present-day O'odham peoples is supported by 
continuities in settlement pattern, architectural technologies, 
basketry, textiles, ceramic technology, and ritual practices. Oral 
traditions that are documented for the Ak-Chin Indian Community 
(previously listed as the Ak Chin Indian Community of the Maricopa (Ak 
Chin) Indian Reservation, Arizona); Gila River Indian Community of the 
Gila River Indian Reservation, Arizona; Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian 
Community of the Salt River Reservation, Arizona; and the Tohono 
O'odham Nation of Arizona support cultural affiliation with Late 
Archaic/Early Agricultural period and Hohokam sites in southern 
Arizona. Oral traditions that are documented for the Hopi Tribe also 
support cultural affiliation with Late Archaic/Early Agricultural 
period and Hohokam sites in the region. Several Hopi clans and 
religious societies are derived from ancestors who migrated from the 
south, and likely identified with the Hohokam tradition. Oral 
traditions of medicine societies and kiva groups of the Zuni Tribe 
recount migration from distant portions of the Southwest to present day 
Zuni and supports affiliation with Hohokam and Late Archaic traditions. 
Historical linguistic analysis also suggests interaction between 
ancestral Zuni and UtoAztecan speakers during the late Hohokam period. 
Archeological studies suggest that Yuman groups have resided along the 
Lower Colorado River and the Lower Gila River in Southern Arizona for 
at least 1,000 years. Their presence in these areas is documented 
historically by Spanish explorers who, in the 1600s and 1700s, 
encountered people living in widely scattered rancherias around the 
Lower Colorado River and the Lower Gila River. Several lines of 
archeological evidence including similarities in material culture, 
settlement patterns, ceremonial sites and practices, residential 
architecture, and subsistence patterns suggest that the Yuman cultural 
traditions arose from an earlier, archeological tradition typically 
referred to as Patayan. Evidence of early Patayan occupation in the 
Lower Colorado River is poorly preserved largely due to the inundation 
of large areas by the Lake Mohave and Lake Havasu reservoirs, and the 
intensive agricultural practices of surrounding valleys. However, 
permanent settlements dating to around 1500 are documented in the 
Mohave Valley, as well as contemporaneous geoglyphs and trail networks 
linking ceremonial, occupational, and resource exploitation areas. In 
the Lower Gila River area, evidence of Patayan occupation prior to the 
introduction of ceramics is poorly documented due to the ephemeral 
nature of such early sites. However, following the introduction of 
ceramics around A.D. 700, settlements in the area became more 
permanent. Archeological evidence for these more permanent settlements 
include sites with pit houses and roasting or fire pits, and artifact 
assemblages containing similar ceramic sherds, chipped stone, and 
ground stone. Although there is evidence of some co-residence between

[[Page 7121]]

Patayan and Hohokam groups, especially in the vicinity of Gila Bend, 
Patayan groups share distinct cultural practices. These practices 
include settlement and subsistence patterns characterized by semi-
permanent or permanent farming rancherias scattered across the 
floodplain of the Lower Gila River and the Lower Colorado River that 
are typically comprised of two to seven pit houses. Produce from these 
farms was augmented by seasonal gathering of resources from temporary 
camps along the river tributaries, as well as adjacent deserts and 
mountains. Large ceremonial sites served as gathering places for 
multiple families, are characterized by shrines, petroglyphs, earth 
figures, intaglios, dance pathways, and rock alignments located on 
desert terraces adjacent to the floodplains. All Patayan groups and 
their descendants practice cremation. Given the relative lack of 
archeological evidence on Patayan groups, archeologists have had 
difficulty establishing a relationship between prehispanic Patayan 
groups and specific historic Yuman tribes. However, archeologists have 
found the Patayan to be culturally affiliated with the Fort Mojave 
Tribe, Colorado River Indian Tribes, Cocopah Tribe, and Fort Yuma-
Quechan Tribe. Modern Yuman groups in Southern Arizona, including the 
Fort Mojave Tribe, Colorado River Indian Tribes, Cocopah Tribe, and the 
Fort-Yuma Quechan Tribe, share oral traditions which trace their 
origins to the time of creation at Spirit Mountain (Avikwaame). 
According to this oral tradition, the Creator led the seven original 
Yuman groups to their various ancestral homelands, naming certain 
geographical markers along the way. Cultural informants cited place 
names from their oral traditions--settlements, geographic features, and 
significant locations--that correlate to geographical areas of 
occupation defined by archeological material culture. These oral 
traditions suggest cultural continuity between modern Yuman groups and 
the earlier archeological Patayan culture.

Determinations Made by the Arizona State Museum

    Officials of the Arizona State Museum have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of one individual of 
Native American ancestry.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), there is a relationship of 
shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the Native 
American human remains and the Ak-Chin Indian Community (previously 
listed as the Ak Chin Indian Community of the Maricopa (Ak Chin) Indian 
Reservation, Arizona); Cocopah Tribe of Arizona; Colorado River Indian 
Tribes of the Colorado River Indian Reservation, Arizona and 
California; Fort Mojave Indian Tribe of Arizona, California & Nevada; 
Gila River Indian Community of the Gila River Indian Reservation, 
Arizona; Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Quechan Tribe of the Fort Yuma Indian 
Reservation, California & Arizona; Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian 
Community of the Salt River Reservation, Arizona; Tohono O'odham Nation 
of Arizona; and the Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico 
(hereafter referred to as ``The Affiliated Tribes'').

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian Tribe or Native 
Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to 
request transfer of control of these human should submit a written 
request with information in support of the request to John McClelland, 
NAGPRA Coordinator, P.O. Box 210026, Arizona State Museum, University 
of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, telephone (520) 626-2950, by April 1, 
2019. After that date, if no additional requestors have come forward, 
transfer of control of the human remains to The Affiliated Tribes may 
proceed.
    The Arizona State Museum is responsible for notifying The Consulted 
Tribes and The Affiliated Tribes that this notice has been published.

    Dated: February 1, 2019.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2019-03568 Filed 2-28-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4312-52-P