Notice of Inventory Completion: Texas Archeological Research Laboratory, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 46043-46044 [2019-18863]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
• National Park Service

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 170 (Tuesday, September 3, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46043-46044]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-18863]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0028680; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Texas Archeological Research 
Laboratory, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Texas Archeological Research Laboratory, University of 
Texas at Austin 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 that wish to request transfer of control of these human remains 
should submit a written request to the Texas Archeological Research 
Laboratory, University of

[[Page 46044]]

Texas at Austin. If no additional requestors come forward, transfer of 
control of these 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 Texas 
Archeological Research Laboratory, University of Texas at Austin at the 
address in this notice by October 3, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Marybeth Tomka, Head of Collections, Texas Archeological 
Research Laboratory, University of Texas at Austin, 1 University 
Station, R7500, Austin, TX 78712-0100, telephone (512) 475-6853, 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 under 
the control of the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory, University 
of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX. The human remains were removed from 
Loco Bottom site (41NA23), located within the Bayou Loco Reservoir, now 
known as Lake Nacogdoches, Nacogdoches County, TX.
    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 Texas 
Archeological Research Laboratory, University of Texas at Austin 
professional staff in consultation with representatives of the Caddo 
Nation of Oklahoma.

History and Description of the Remains

    In 1972, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual 
were removed from the Loco Bottom site (41NA23) in Nacogdoches, TX, 
during a testing project, following the survey of the middle reaches of 
Bayou Loco, prior to the proposed creation of Lake Nacogdoches. The 
site was first recorded in July by the Texas Archeological Survey (a 
contracting arm of the Texas Archeological Research Lab [TARL]). The 
Nacogdoches Archeological Society (NAS), led by Thomas Mayhew, 
conducted test excavations at the central part of the Loco Bottom site, 
during which 15 five-by-five foot units in an L-shaped trench were 
excavated. The ancestral human remains were found commingled with 
faunal remains from the disturbed plow zone in one unit labeled Lot 12.
    In the absence of a previous detailed assessment, a new effort to 
document the site included a faunal analysis in 2019 by Kristin Corl, 
an independent contractor, at which time an inferior fragment of a 
juvenile mastoid process was identified among the faunal material. No 
sex or additional aspects of the biological profile could be 
determined. The human remains were segregated from the faunal material 
and reported to TARL collections staff. The human remains have been 
assigned an HO# 4156 for the Bayou Loco Reservoir Project (Acc# TARL 
1975.0003). No known individuals were identified. No associated 
funerary objects are present.
    Originally recorded in 1930, The Loco Bottom site (41NA23) is an 
ancestral Caddo settlement that was principally lived in year-round by 
Caddo farming peoples in the late 17th century, during the Allen phase. 
This site along Bayou Loco had one to several ancestral Caddo houses 
with associated trash midden deposits. Settlements of this type were 
probably occupied by Caddo families for, at most, 1-2 generations, 
before farmsteads moved to another location in the valley or they were 
abandoned. Due to plowing, the attribution of the reported ancestral 
human remains to the Allen phase is based on the preponderance of the 
archeological evidence. The determination of cultural affiliation was 
based on the geographical location of the human remains within the 
ancestral Caddo settlement, as well as the character of the recovered 
archeological materials from the site.

Determinations Made by the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory, 
University of Texas at Austin

    Officials of the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory, 
University of Texas at Austin 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 Caddo Nation of Oklahoma.

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 should submit a 
written request with information in support of the request to Marybeth 
Tomka, Head of Collections, Texas Archeological Research Laboratory, 
The University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station, R7500, Austin, 
TX 78712-0100, telephone (512) 475-6853, email 
[email protected], by October 3, 2019. After that date, 
if no additional requestors have come forward, transfer of control of 
the human remains to the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma may proceed.
    The Texas Archeological Research Laboratory, University of Texas at 
Austin is responsible for notifying the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma that 
this notice has been published.

    Dated: August 8, 2019.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2019-18863 Filed 8-30-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4312-52-P