Notice of Inventory Completion: Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of Archaeology, Nashville, TN, 25822-25824 [2019-11539]
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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 107 / Tuesday, June 4, 2019 / Notices
khammond on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES
was collected with one of the other
individuals, but it is unclear which one.
In the 1970s, the collectors Homer Root
and Charles McLean gave the human
remains of these three individuals to a
private citizen. The transferee’s son
found them in 2018, while handling his
deceased father’s estate. Root and
McLean indicated that the human
remains came from Basketmaker and
Pueblo burials. In August 2018, the
county coroners ruled out a forensic
interest, where upon the human remains
were transferred to History Colorado.
They are identified as OAHP Case
Number 336. No known individuals
were identified. No associated funerary
objects are present.
Osteological analysis by Dr. Christine
Pink determined the individuals to be
Native American. The geographical
areas from which the human remains
were removed contain numerous
documented Ancestral Puebloan sites.
Root and McLean were knowledgeable
about Ancestral Puebloan burials. Root
was an avid collector of Ancestral
Pueblo human remains and goods, and
led field schools for Fort Lewis College
from 1965 to 1969. The preponderance
of the evidence, including geographical
location, biological evidence, and expert
opinion regarding burial context, shows
that the human remains are associated
with the Ancestral Puebloan
occupations of the southwestern United
States from the Basketmaker II period
through the Pueblo III period
(approximately 1000 B.C. to A.D. 1300).
Evidence for the cultural affiliation of
the human remains in this notice was
gathered from tribal consultations,
physical examination of the human
remains, a survey of acquisition history,
a review of current available
archeological, ethnographic, historical,
anthropological and linguistic literature,
and artifact analysis.
Determinations Made by the History
Colorado
Officials of History Colorado have
determined that:
• Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the
human remains described in this notice
represent the physical remains of six
individuals of Native American
ancestry.
• Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A),
the 11 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.
• 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 associated funerary objects
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and the Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Ohkay
Owingeh, New Mexico (previously
listed as the Pueblo of San Juan); Pueblo
of Acoma, 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;
Ysleta del Sur Pueblo (previously listed
as the Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo of Texas);
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 remains and associated
funerary objects should submit a written
request with information in support of
the request to Alisa DiGiacomo, History
Colorado, 1200 Broadway, Denver, CO
80203, telephone (303) 866–4687, email
alisa.digiacomo@state.co.us, by July 5,
2019. After that date, if no additional
requestors have come forward, transfer
of control of the human remains and
associated funerary objects to The
Affiliated Tribes may proceed.
History Colorado is responsible for
notifying The Consulted and Invited
Tribes that this notice has been
published.
Dated: May 3, 2019.
Melanie O’Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2019–11538 Filed 6–3–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312–52–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS–WASO–NAGPRA–NPS0027841;
PPWOCRADN0–PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion:
Tennessee Department of Environment
and Conservation, Division of
Archaeology, Nashville, TN
National Park Service, Interior.
Notice.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
The Tennessee Department of
Environment and Conservation,
Division of Archaeology has completed
an inventory of human remains and
associated funerary objects in
SUMMARY:
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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 that wish to
request transfer of control of these
human remains and associated funerary
objects should submit a written request
to the Tennessee Department of
Environment and Conservation,
Division of Archaeology. If no
additional requestors come forward,
transfer of control of the human remains
and associated funerary objects to the
lineal descendants, Indian Tribes, or
Native Hawaiian organizations stated in
this notice may proceed.
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 and associated funerary
objects should submit a written request
with information in support of the
request to the Tennessee Department of
Environment and Conservation,
Division of Archaeology at the address
in this notice by July 5, 2019.
DATES:
Michael C. Moore,
Tennessee Department of Environment
and Conservation, Division of
Archaeology, 1216 Foster Avenue, Cole
Building 3, Nashville, TN 37243,
telephone (615) 687–4776, email
mike.c.moore@tn.gov.
ADDRESSES:
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 and associated
funerary objects under the control of the
Tennessee Department of Environment
and Conservation, Division of
Archaeology, Nashville, TN. The human
remains and associated funerary objects
were removed from Rutherford County
and Williamson County, TN.
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 and
associated funerary objects. The
National Park Service is not responsible
for the determinations in this notice.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 107 / Tuesday, June 4, 2019 / Notices
Consultation
A detailed assessment of the human
remains was made by the Tennessee
Department of Environment and
Conservation, Division of Archaeology
professional staff in consultation with
representatives of the Cherokee Nation;
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; The
Chickasaw Nation; The Muscogee
(Creek) Nation; The Osage Nation
(previously listed as the Osage Tribe);
and the United Keetoowah Band of
Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma,
hereafter referred to as ‘‘The Tribes.’’
khammond on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES
History and Description of the Remains
The Fernvale site (40WM51) was
excavated by the Division of
Archaeology in 1985 prior to bridge
construction by the Tennessee
Department of Transportation. This site
is located on the west side of the South
Harpeth River in northwest Williamson
County, TN, near the community of
Fernvale. The final report on the
excavation (The Fernvale Site
(40WM51): A Late Archaic Occupation
Along the South Harpeth River in
Williamson County, Tennessee, edited
by A. Deter-Wolf, Tennessee
Department of Environment and
Conservation, Division of Archaeology
Research Series No. 19) is available in
pdf format on the Division web page, at
https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/
environment/archaeology/documents/
researchseries/arch_rs19_fernvale_Rev_
2016.pdf.
Radiocarbon dates and recovered
artifacts indicate Fernvale is primarily a
Late Archaic period site dating 3490 to
3320 BP. All removed burials and
associated burial objects are consistent
with previously identified Native
American burials and objects dating to
the Late Archaic period. 33 individuals
were removed from 27 pit features.
Burial 2 comprised an adult female that
had been interred with a mature dog. No
known individuals were identified. A
total of 61 associated funerary objects
were recovered with these individuals.
The 62 associated funerary objects are
three bone pins, nine projectile points,
two polished bone fragments, one ovate
knife, one biface, one drill, one antler
tine, 17 canid phalanges, four bone
awls, seven fragmented mussel shells,
two limestone hoes, four shell beads,
two hammerstones, one grooved cobble,
six fragmented animal bones, and the
remains of one dog.
The Arnold site (40WM5) was
established on a low ridge along the
north bank of the Little Harpeth River
about a mile southwest of the city of
Brentwood in northern Williamson
County, TN. This site, named after the
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famed singer Eddy Arnold, was
excavated in 1965 and 1966 by the
Southeastern Indian Antiquities Survey
Inc. (SIAS) prior to construction of a
residential subdivision.
The SIAS excavation is reported to
have uncovered 151 stone-box graves
and the remnants of 17 structures. A
report on the SIAS Arnold site
excavations was published in 1972 as
part of the edited volume The Middle
Cumberland Culture, edited by Robert
B. Ferguson, Vanderbilt University
Publications in Anthropology No. 3,
Nashville, TN.
The stone-box graves and structure
architecture indicate Arnold is a
Mississippian period site. All removed
burials and associated burial objects are
consistent with previously identified
late prehistoric Native American burials
and objects dating roughly A.D. 1200–
1450. Information regarding the Middle
Cumberland Mississippian culture can
be found in Kevin Smith’s 1992
dissertation The Middle Cumberland
Region: Mississippian Archaeology in
North Central Tennessee, Vanderbilt
University; as well as the 2009 (revised
2012) report Archaeological Expeditions
of the Peabody Museum in Middle
Tennessee, 1877–1884 by Michael C.
Moore and Kevin E. Smith, Tennessee
Division of Archaeology Research Series
No. 16 (available as a free pdf on the
Division of Archaeology website, at
https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/
environment/archaeology/documents/
researchseries/arch_rs16_peabody_
museum_2009.pdf).
While over 150 burials were
reportedly removed during the 1965–
1966 work, the Division of Archaeology
holds 19 human individuals from 14
burials. The remainder of the skeletal
collection was held by Vanderbilt
University. No known individuals were
identified. The Division has five
associated funerary objects recovered
with these individuals. The five
associated funerary objects are three
ceramic frog-effigy jars and two ceramic
effigy hooded bottles.
The Ryan site (40RD77) was
established on a floodplain of Stewart
Creek in Smyrna, Rutherford County,
TN. This site was defined in 1981, by
the Tennessee Department of
Transportation (TDOT), during planning
for an interstate connection, and it was
excavated in the spring of 1982, prior to
construction. The human remains were
transferred to the Tennessee Division of
Archaeology (TDOA) for curation upon
completion of the work, although the
burial objects were held by TDOT. A
report was not completed at that time.
In 2000, the Ryan collection was
temporarily transferred to TDOT for
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25823
analysis by Gary Barker and Christopher
M. Hazel. Their results were published
in a 2007 Journal of Alabama
Archaeology (JAA) article (‘‘Ryan
(40RD77): A Late Middle Archaic
Benton Culture Cemetery in Tennessee’s
Central Basin’’). After completion of the
Barker and Hazel analysis, the human
remains were returned to the TDOA.
The JAA article listed 23 individuals
from 20 burial pits, as well as one
human cremation (originally designated
Feature 4). In 2009 the TDOA requested
that Middle Tennessee State University
(MTSU) reanalyze the Ryan human
remains. This reanalysis identified 20
individuals from the 20 burial pits,
along with the one Feature 4 human
cremation. No known individuals were
identified.
The Division documented 22
associated funerary objects recovered
with these individuals. These 23
associated funerary objects are three
Benton style darts/knives, one stemmed
dart/knife, one unnotched dart/knife,
three shell beads, six drilled canine
incisors, one bone atlatl hook, two shell
pins, two bone pins, one lot of small
steatite fragments (likely representing a
single unknown object), one turkey awl,
one raccoon baculum, and the remains
of one dog.
The placement of these individuals in
flexed burial positions within circular
burial pits, along with distinctive
associated funerary objects (including
Benton style darts/knives and an atlatl
hook), is consistent with previously
identified Native American burials and
objects dating to the prehistoric Middle
Archaic period. Two radiocarbon dates
between 4680–4360 B.C. confirm Ryan
as a Middle Archaic period site.
Determinations Made by the Tennessee
Department of Environment and
Conservation, Division of Archaeology
Officials of the Tennessee Department
of Environment and Conservation,
Division of Archaeology have
determined that:
• Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the
human remains described in this notice
represent the physical remains of 73
individuals of Native American
ancestry.
• Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A),
the 90 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.
• 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 associated funerary objects
and The Chickasaw Nation.
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25824
Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 107 / Tuesday, June 4, 2019 / Notices
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 remains and associated
funerary objects should submit a written
request with information in support of
the request to Michael C. Moore,
Tennessee Department of Environment
and Conservation, Division of
Archaeology, 1216 Foster Avenue, Cole
Building 3, Nashville, TN 37243,
telephone (615) 687–4776, email
mike.c.moore@tn.gov, by July 5, 2019.
After that date, if no additional
requestors have come forward, transfer
of control of the human remains and
associated funerary objects to The
Chickasaw Nation may proceed.
The Tennessee Department of
Environment and Conservation,
Division of Archaeology is responsible
for notifying The Tribes that this notice
has been published.
Dated: May 2, 2019.
Melanie O’Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2019–11539 Filed 6–3–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312–52–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS–WASO–NAGPRA–NPS0027959;
PPWOCRADN0–PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Forest
Service, Cibola National Forest,
Albuquerque, NM
National Park Service, Interior.
Notice.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
The U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service, Cibola
National Forest has completed an
inventory of human remains and
associated funerary objects, 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 associated funerary
objects 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
that wish to request transfer of control
of these human remains and associated
funerary objects should submit a written
request to the Cibola National Forest. If
no additional requestors come forward,
transfer of control of the human remains
and associated funerary objects to the
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SUMMARY:
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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 and associated funerary
objects should submit a written request
with information in support of the
request to the Cibola National Forest at
the address in this notice by July 5,
2019.
ADDRESSES: Forest Supervisor, Steve
Hattenbach, Cibola National Forest and
Grasslands, 2113 Osuna Road NE,
Albuquerque, NM 87113, telephone
(505) 346–3804, email
steven.hattenbach@usda.gov.
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 and associated
funerary objects under the control of the
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest
Service, Cibola National Forest,
Albuquerque, NM. The human remains
and associated funerary objects were
removed from site AR–03–03–02–536
(LA79663), Mt. Taylor Ranger District,
Cibola National Forest and National
Grasslands, Cibola County, NM.
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 and
associated funerary objects. 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 Cibola
National Forest professional staff in
consultation with representatives of the
Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Navajo Nation,
Arizona, New Mexico & Utah; Pueblo of
Acoma, New Mexico; Pueblo of Laguna,
New Mexico; and the Zuni Tribe of the
Zuni Reservation, New Mexico
(hereafter referred to as ‘‘The Tribes’’).
History and Description of the Remains
Between 1980 and 1991, human
remains representing, at minimum, two
individuals were removed from site AR–
03–03–02–536 (LA79663) in Cibola
County, NM. Based on reports, site
forms, and other notes found in the
Forest’s heritage resource files, the site
experienced several episodes of rodent
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damage and vandalism (pot hunting)
over a period of 11 years (1980–1991).
The initial damage to the site was noted
in July 1980. At that time, 18 human
bones or fragments of bones were
observed in two midden features, and
were collected by Forest Service
archeological staff. The site form from
that time indicates that the bones were
likely brought to the surface as a result
of rodent activity. The skeletal remains
consist of four long bones, six ribs or rib
fragments, seven vertebrae, and one
sacrum, and represent the partial
skeletons of two Native American
individuals of unknown sex and age. No
known individuals were identified.
Damage to site AR–03–03–02–536
(LA79663) from pot hunting was noted
in 199l, and the site was subsequently
monitored more frequently, until an
individual was discovered digging
within a room block at the site, resulting
in an investigation in September 1991.
During the course of the investigation,
12 artifacts collected by the individual
were seized by a Forest Service Law
Enforcement officer. In June 2008,
evidence of new disturbance (pot
hunting) was observed at the site. As
part of the damage assessment, the
Forest Service archeologist screened soil
from two holes, and recovered
additional items (ceramic sherds, flaked
stone, small pieces of charcoal and
adobe, and seven small pieces of faunal
bone). The 63 associated funerary
objects are 19 ceramic sherds, 13 pieces
of flaked stone, 10 pieces of charcoal, 14
pieces of adobe, and seven small
fragments of faunal remains.
Site AR–03–03–02–536 (LA79663) is a
small masonry pueblo that is estimated
to date between A.D. 900 and 1100. It
is located in Limekiln Canyon, in the
eastern portion of the Zuni Mountains,
on lands managed by the Mt. Taylor
Ranger District of the Cibola National
Forest and National Grasslands. The
1996 report Cultural Affiliations—
Prehistoric Cultural Affiliations of
Southwestern Indian Tribes prepared by
the USDA Forest Service (Southwestern
Region), the Bureau of Land
Management (Arizona and New Mexico
State Offices), and the Arizona State
Museum found that the Eastern Anasazi
in the Cibola Area (A.D. 700–1300) are
culturally affiliated with the Hopi Tribe
of Arizona, Pueblo of Acoma, New
Mexico, and the Zuni Tribe of the Zuni
Reservation, New Mexico. During
consultation, the Pueblo of Laguna, New
Mexico Historic Preservation Office
confirmed it, too, considers the eastern
half of the Zuni Mountains part of its
aboriginal land base. The Navajo Nation,
Arizona, New Mexico & Utah also
claims cultural affiliation with the Nihi
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 107 (Tuesday, June 4, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25822-25824]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-11539]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0027841; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]
Notice of Inventory Completion: Tennessee Department of
Environment and Conservation, Division of Archaeology, Nashville, TN
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation,
Division of Archaeology has completed an inventory of human remains and
associated funerary objects 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 that wish to request transfer of control of
these human remains and associated funerary objects should submit a
written request to the Tennessee Department of Environment and
Conservation, Division of Archaeology. If no additional requestors come
forward, transfer of control of the human remains and associated
funerary objects 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 and associated
funerary objects should submit a written request with information in
support of the request to the Tennessee Department of Environment and
Conservation, Division of Archaeology at the address in this notice by
July 5, 2019.
ADDRESSES: Michael C. Moore, Tennessee Department of Environment and
Conservation, Division of Archaeology, 1216 Foster Avenue, Cole
Building 3, Nashville, TN 37243, telephone (615) 687-4776, email
[email protected].
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 and
associated funerary objects under the control of the Tennessee
Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of Archaeology,
Nashville, TN. The human remains and associated funerary objects were
removed from Rutherford County and Williamson County, TN.
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 and associated funerary objects. The National
Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.
[[Page 25823]]
Consultation
A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by the
Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of
Archaeology professional staff in consultation with representatives of
the Cherokee Nation; Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; The Chickasaw
Nation; The Muscogee (Creek) Nation; The Osage Nation (previously
listed as the Osage Tribe); and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee
Indians in Oklahoma, hereafter referred to as ``The Tribes.''
History and Description of the Remains
The Fernvale site (40WM51) was excavated by the Division of
Archaeology in 1985 prior to bridge construction by the Tennessee
Department of Transportation. This site is located on the west side of
the South Harpeth River in northwest Williamson County, TN, near the
community of Fernvale. The final report on the excavation (The Fernvale
Site (40WM51): A Late Archaic Occupation Along the South Harpeth River
in Williamson County, Tennessee, edited by A. Deter-Wolf, Tennessee
Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of Archaeology
Research Series No. 19) is available in pdf format on the Division web
page, at https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/environment/archaeology/documents/researchseries/arch_rs19_fernvale_Rev_2016.pdf.
Radiocarbon dates and recovered artifacts indicate Fernvale is
primarily a Late Archaic period site dating 3490 to 3320 BP. All
removed burials and associated burial objects are consistent with
previously identified Native American burials and objects dating to the
Late Archaic period. 33 individuals were removed from 27 pit features.
Burial 2 comprised an adult female that had been interred with a mature
dog. No known individuals were identified. A total of 61 associated
funerary objects were recovered with these individuals. The 62
associated funerary objects are three bone pins, nine projectile
points, two polished bone fragments, one ovate knife, one biface, one
drill, one antler tine, 17 canid phalanges, four bone awls, seven
fragmented mussel shells, two limestone hoes, four shell beads, two
hammerstones, one grooved cobble, six fragmented animal bones, and the
remains of one dog.
The Arnold site (40WM5) was established on a low ridge along the
north bank of the Little Harpeth River about a mile southwest of the
city of Brentwood in northern Williamson County, TN. This site, named
after the famed singer Eddy Arnold, was excavated in 1965 and 1966 by
the Southeastern Indian Antiquities Survey Inc. (SIAS) prior to
construction of a residential subdivision.
The SIAS excavation is reported to have uncovered 151 stone-box
graves and the remnants of 17 structures. A report on the SIAS Arnold
site excavations was published in 1972 as part of the edited volume The
Middle Cumberland Culture, edited by Robert B. Ferguson, Vanderbilt
University Publications in Anthropology No. 3, Nashville, TN.
The stone-box graves and structure architecture indicate Arnold is
a Mississippian period site. All removed burials and associated burial
objects are consistent with previously identified late prehistoric
Native American burials and objects dating roughly A.D. 1200-1450.
Information regarding the Middle Cumberland Mississippian culture can
be found in Kevin Smith's 1992 dissertation The Middle Cumberland
Region: Mississippian Archaeology in North Central Tennessee,
Vanderbilt University; as well as the 2009 (revised 2012) report
Archaeological Expeditions of the Peabody Museum in Middle Tennessee,
1877-1884 by Michael C. Moore and Kevin E. Smith, Tennessee Division of
Archaeology Research Series No. 16 (available as a free pdf on the
Division of Archaeology website, at https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/environment/archaeology/documents/researchseries/arch_rs16_peabody_museum_2009.pdf).
While over 150 burials were reportedly removed during the 1965-1966
work, the Division of Archaeology holds 19 human individuals from 14
burials. The remainder of the skeletal collection was held by
Vanderbilt University. No known individuals were identified. The
Division has five associated funerary objects recovered with these
individuals. The five associated funerary objects are three ceramic
frog-effigy jars and two ceramic effigy hooded bottles.
The Ryan site (40RD77) was established on a floodplain of Stewart
Creek in Smyrna, Rutherford County, TN. This site was defined in 1981,
by the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT), during planning
for an interstate connection, and it was excavated in the spring of
1982, prior to construction. The human remains were transferred to the
Tennessee Division of Archaeology (TDOA) for curation upon completion
of the work, although the burial objects were held by TDOT. A report
was not completed at that time.
In 2000, the Ryan collection was temporarily transferred to TDOT
for analysis by Gary Barker and Christopher M. Hazel. Their results
were published in a 2007 Journal of Alabama Archaeology (JAA) article
(``Ryan (40RD77): A Late Middle Archaic Benton Culture Cemetery in
Tennessee's Central Basin''). After completion of the Barker and Hazel
analysis, the human remains were returned to the TDOA. The JAA article
listed 23 individuals from 20 burial pits, as well as one human
cremation (originally designated Feature 4). In 2009 the TDOA requested
that Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) reanalyze the Ryan human
remains. This reanalysis identified 20 individuals from the 20 burial
pits, along with the one Feature 4 human cremation. No known
individuals were identified.
The Division documented 22 associated funerary objects recovered
with these individuals. These 23 associated funerary objects are three
Benton style darts/knives, one stemmed dart/knife, one unnotched dart/
knife, three shell beads, six drilled canine incisors, one bone atlatl
hook, two shell pins, two bone pins, one lot of small steatite
fragments (likely representing a single unknown object), one turkey
awl, one raccoon baculum, and the remains of one dog.
The placement of these individuals in flexed burial positions
within circular burial pits, along with distinctive associated funerary
objects (including Benton style darts/knives and an atlatl hook), is
consistent with previously identified Native American burials and
objects dating to the prehistoric Middle Archaic period. Two
radiocarbon dates between 4680-4360 B.C. confirm Ryan as a Middle
Archaic period site.
Determinations Made by the Tennessee Department of Environment and
Conservation, Division of Archaeology
Officials of the Tennessee Department of Environment and
Conservation, Division of Archaeology have determined that:
Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described
in this notice represent the physical remains of 73 individuals of
Native American ancestry.
Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the 90 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.
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 associated funerary objects and The
Chickasaw Nation.
[[Page 25824]]
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 remains and associated
funerary objects should submit a written request with information in
support of the request to Michael C. Moore, Tennessee Department of
Environment and Conservation, Division of Archaeology, 1216 Foster
Avenue, Cole Building 3, Nashville, TN 37243, telephone (615) 687-4776,
email [email protected], by July 5, 2019. After that date, if no
additional requestors have come forward, transfer of control of the
human remains and associated funerary objects to The Chickasaw Nation
may proceed.
The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Division
of Archaeology is responsible for notifying The Tribes that this notice
has been published.
Dated: May 2, 2019.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2019-11539 Filed 6-3-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
