Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, Mobile, AL, 29160-29161 [2023-09581]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
• National Park Service

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 87 (Friday, May 5, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29160-29161]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-09581]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0035777; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 
Mobile District, Mobile, AL

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 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile 
District, 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. The 
human remains and associated funerary objects were removed from Lowndes 
and Monroe Counties, MS.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary 
objects in this notice may occur on or after June 5, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Ms. Alexandria Smith, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile 
District, 109 St. Joseph Street, P.O. Box 2288, Mobile, AL 36628-0001, 
telephone (251) 690-2728, 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 
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District. The National Park 
Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice. 
Additional information on the determinations in this notice, including 
the results of consultation, can be found in the inventory or related 
records held by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District.

Description

    Human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed 
from Lowndes County, MS. One of several sites identified during early 
mitigation measures for the prospective Tennessee Tombigbee Waterway, 
site 22LO553 (unnamed) was excavated between December 1978 and May 1979 
under the direction of Judith A. Bense. No further work was ever 
conducted. The age and sex of the individual are undetermined. No known 
individual was identified. The 10 associated funerary objects are one 
lot consisting of lithics, six lots consisting of ceramics, two lots 
consisting of unmodified stones, and one lot consisting of shells.
    Human remains representing, at minimum, two individuals were 
removed from Lowndes County, MS. The Barnes Mound (22LO564) likely was 
a seasonal occupation site from the Early or Middle Archaic to the 
Middle and Late Woodland periods. It was excavated by the Mississippi 
State University Department of Anthropology under principal 
investigator James R. Atkinson and field director G. Gerald Berry 
during July 6-24, 1974. The age and sex of the individuals are 
undetermined. No known individuals were identified. The four associated 
funerary objects are two lots consisting of soil samples, one lot 
consisting of lithics, and one lot consisting of ceramics.
    Human remains representing, at minimum, 21 individuals were removed 
from Lowndes County, MS. The Cofferdam site (22LO599) is an Early-Late 
Woodland occupation featuring some Miller II components. Cofferdam was 
identified by Army Corps of Engineers personnel during the excavation 
of the cofferdam for the Columbus Lock and Dam of the Tennessee-
Tombigbee Waterway, and it was excavated by the Mississippi State 
University Department of Anthropology under the direction of James R. 
Atkinson and field crew chief G. Gerald Berry during August-October of 
1975. The age and sex of the individuals are undetermined. No known 
individuals were identified. The 221 associated funerary objects are 
one lot consisting of mixed soil and fill, seven lots consisting of 
unmodified rocks, 37 lots consisting of lithics, 15 lots consisting of 
pebbles, seven lots consisting of groundstone fragments, 36 lots 
consisting of ceramics, 24 lots consisting of shells, 33 lots 
consisting of faunal remains, two lots consisting of clay balls, 12 
lots consisting of flotation samples, eight lots consisting of 
projectile points, two lots consisting of charcoal, one lot consisting 
of stone cores, one lot consisting of fragmented turtle shell rattles, 
one lot consisting of pebbles, seven lots consisting of sandstone, 
three lots consisting of burned wood, two lots consisting of matrix 
with unidentified fill, six lots consisting of clay, four lots 
consisting of daub, four lots consisting of unscreened mixed materials, 
one lot consisting of grog tempered pipe bowls, two lots consisting of 
firecracked rock, two lots consisting of gravel/concretion, one lot 
consisting of petrified wood, one lot consisting of nutshells, and one 
lot consisting of shell gorgets.
    Human remains representing, at minimum, four individuals were 
removed from Lowndes County, MS. The River Cut site (22LO860) is a 
small village containing Woodland and Mississippian components as well 
as Miller III, with some signs of possible Miller II habitation. The 
site was reported to the USACE, Mobile District, in 1983. Following 
salvage of a burial from an eroding bank in 1984, the site was 
excavated by the Cobb Institute of Archaeology, Mississippi State 
University, under principal investigator Janet Rafferty, with Mary 
Evelyn Starr, during December 29-30, 1985 and July 23-September 29, 
1986. The age and sex of the individuals are undetermined. No known 
individuals were identified. The 14 associated funerary objects are 
four lots consisting of ceramics, five lots consisting of lithics, four 
lots consisting of projectile point fragments, and one lot consisting 
of sandstone.
    Human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed 
from Monroe County, MS. One of several sites identified during early

[[Page 29161]]

mitigation measures for the prospective Tennessee Tombigbee Waterway, 
the New Hamilton site (22MO548) was excavated between December of 1978 
and May of 1979 under the direction of Judith A. Bense. No further work 
was ever conducted. The age and sex of the individual are undetermined. 
No known individual was identified. The 41 associated funerary objects 
are eight lots consisting of shells, six lots consisting of ceramics, 
one lot consisting of cobbles, one lot consisting of botanical remains, 
eight lots consisting of lithics, five lots consisting of faunal 
remains, six lots consisting of soil samples, one lot consisting of 
sandstone, one lot consisting of rock fill, one lot consisting of 
modified bones, one lot consisting of pebbles, one lot consisting of 
conch shell dippers, and one lot consisting of copper flakes.
    Human remains representing, at minimum, two individuals were 
removed from Monroe County, MS. One of several sites identified during 
early mitigation measures for the prospective Tennessee Tombigbee 
Waterway, the SW Amory site (22MO710) was excavated between December of 
1978 and May of 1979 under the direction of Judith A. Bense. No further 
work was ever conducted. The age and sex of the individuals are 
undetermined. No known individuals were identified. The 58 associated 
funerary objects are 13 lots consisting of lithics, nine lots 
consisting of ceramics, four lots consisting of faunal remains, five 
lots consisting of soil samples, one lot consisting of glass, eight 
lots consisting of clay, four lots consisting of unmodified stones, 
three lots consisting of mixed samples, two lots consisting of ferrous 
sandstone, two lots consisting of firecracked rocks, one lot consisting 
of projectile points, three lots consisting of sandstone, one lot 
consisting of groundstone, one lot consisting of shark tooth fragments, 
and one lot consisting of plant materials.
    Human remains representing, at minimum, one individual were removed 
from Monroe County, MS. The East Aberdeen site (22MO819), located 
during the 1976 survey, was a prehistoric midden with some historical, 
nineteenth and twentieth century components. The site was excavated 
from June 1 to September 29, 1978, by co-principal investigators Janet 
E. Rafferty and B. Lea Baker. The age and sex of the individual are 
undetermined. No known individual was identified. The 13 associated 
funerary objects are two lots consisting of lithics, two lots 
consisting of faunal remains, two lots consisting of charcoal, two lots 
consisting of clay, two lots consisting of gravel, one lot consisting 
of botanical materials, one float sample, and one lot consisting of 
sandstone.

Cultural Affiliation

    The human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice 
are connected to one or more identifiable earlier groups, tribes, 
peoples, or cultures. There is a relationship of shared group identity 
between the identifiable earlier groups, tribes, peoples, or cultures 
and one or more Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. The 
following types of information were used to reasonably trace the 
relationship: archeological, geographical, historical, other relevant 
information, and expert opinion.

Determinations

    Pursuant to NAGPRA and its implementing regulations, and after 
consultation with the appropriate Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian 
organizations, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District has 
determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of 32 individuals of Native American ancestry.
     The 361 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.
     There is a relationship of shared group identity that can 
be reasonably traced between the human remains and associated funerary 
objects described in this notice and The Chickasaw Nation.

Requests for Repatriation

    Written requests for repatriation of the human remains and 
associated funerary objects in this notice must be sent to the 
Responsible Official identified in 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 notice to a requestor may occur on or after June 5, 2023. If 
competing requests for repatriation are received, the U.S. Army Corps 
of Engineers, Mobile District, 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 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 
Mobile District, is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to 
the Indian Tribe identified in this notice.
    Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 
25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.9, 10.10, 
and 10.14.

    Dated: April 25, 2023.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2023-09581 Filed 5-4-23; 8:45 am]
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