Notice of Inventory Completion: University of Alabama Museums, Tuscaloosa, AL, 80921-80923 [2024-22885]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
• National Park Service

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 193 (Friday, October 4, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 80921-80923]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-22885]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0038780; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: University of Alabama Museums, 
Tuscaloosa, 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 University of Alabama Museums has 
completed an inventory of human

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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 November 4, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Dr. William Bomar, Executive Director, University of Alabama 
Museums, Box 870340, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, telephone (205) 348-7551, 
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 
University of Alabama Museums, 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, 23 individuals have been 
identified. The 152 lots of associated funerary objects are ceramic 
vessels, ceramic sherds, lithics, ground stone, discoidal, shell, 
faunal bone, copper, stone disk, sandstone, charcoal, burial fill, and 
botanical remains.
    The human remains and associated funerary objects from sites in 
Hale and Tuscaloosa Counties, Alabama, and Moundville that are in the 
possession of the University of Alabama Museums derive from various 
investigations and private collection donations primarily dating to the 
period 1933-1996. These sites in Hale and Tuscaloosa Counties are 
associated with the larger site of Moundville. During its Native 
American occupation, the Moundville site and the surrounding area were 
inhabited by several thousand people in a relatively dense occupancy, 
and over a prolonged period of time. Excavations at various sites in 
Hale and Tuscaloosa Counties, AL and Moundville contributed to the 
human remains and associated funerary objects in the University of 
Alabama Museums' collection.
    At an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual was removed from an unknown location in Tuscaloosa County, 
AL. Provenience from the bag where these human remains were found is as 
follows: ``Material from dog Nancy Miss Marsh for Anth 13 76 
Brookhaven, Tuscaloosa'' (Box 1502, Bag 21). The collection contains no 
additional information as to the origin of the human remains and is 
simply designated as ``Brookhaven.'' Based on morphological 
characteristics identified through osteological analysis, the human 
remains are Native American. No known individuals are identified. No 
associated funerary objects are present.
    In 1933, human remains representing, at minimum, three individuals 
were excavated and removed from Site 1Ha14/1Ha15, the Taylor Site. Site 
1Ha14/1Ha15 was recorded by Walter B. Jones of the Alabama Museum of 
Natural History. The site consists of the mound originally called 1Ha14 
and the associated village originally called 1Ha15. Site 1Ha14 is now 
considered to include both the mound and village and 1Ha15 is 
considered a synonym. The mound is a small eroded earthen mound, 
situated approximately 50 yards from the bank of the Touson Lake, a 
small ox box lake about two miles west of the town of Moundville. After 
a 1970 flood, the University of Alabama removed two burials, which had 
been exposed and disturbed at that time. Neither of the burials 
contained chronologically diagnostic grave goods. No known individuals 
are identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    From the 1930s to 2000, human remains representing, at minimum, 14 
individuals were excavated and removed from site 1Tu66, the Grady Bobo 
site. Site 1Tu66 was originally recorded in 1933 by Walter B. Jones and 
John Dodd of the Alabama Museum of Natural History. The site was 
revisited by a survey party from the University of Michigan in 1978-
1979. In 1999 the University of North Carolina archaeological field 
school returned to the Grady Bobo (1Tu66) site. Burial 1 was 
encountered while excavating Feature 10 during the field school in 
1999. Dr. Keith Jacobi of the University of Alabama came to the Bobo 
site to document the remains in Burial 1 in situ. It is stated the 
bones were left in situ and covered with soil immediately after 
documentation was complete. All feature soil, including burial fill, 
was bagged. The site was revisited during the 2000 field season by the 
University of North Carolina. During this time two burials were 
uncovered and documented by Dr. Keith Jacobi of the University of 
Alabama in situ. No known individuals are identified. The 54 lots of 
associated funerary objects include ceramic sherds, lithics, ground 
stone, shell, faunal bone, charcoal, and botanical remains.
    Between 1905 and 1979, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual was excavated and removed from site 1Ha107/1Tu41. Site 1Tu41 
was originally recorded by C.B. Moore in 1905 and later in 1933 by 
Walter B. Jones of the Alabama Museum of Natural History. The site is a 
mound and was one of a dozen habitation sites in a large field. Each 
site was initially given a separate number, but later, during 
excavation, were all combined under site 1Ha107. The site complex, 
however, is centered in Tuscaloosa County, and included the previously 
recorded mound, 1Tu41. C.B. Moore reported a mound at this position. 
Despite its eroded state Moore dug into the mound but found no burials. 
In July 1933, Jones was able to relocate the mound, and he notes that 
the mound was largely obliterated by cultivation. The UMMA survey team 
in 1979 was unable to find the mound. No known individuals are 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    In 1937, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual was 
excavated and removed from site 1Tu115. Site 1Tu115 was originally 
recorded by Walter B. Jones of the Alabama Museum of Natural History. 
Human bone, pottery sherds, and a few flints were recorded as being 
seen. The collection contains no additional information as to the 
origin of the human remains and there is no map location for this site. 
No known individuals are identified. No associated funerary objects are 
present.
    In 1970, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual was 
excavated and removed from site 1Tu240. Site 1Tu240 was recorded by 
Jerry Nielsen and Craig Sheldon of the University of Alabama. The 
original investigation was by boat as material was eroding out of the 
upper part of the riverbank, adjacent to a pasture. A pit was observed 
eroding out of the riverbank and a small midden zone was observed. Clay 
Wiggins of Fosters excavated a burial urn eroding out of the riverbank. 
No known individuals are identified. No associated funerary objects are 
present.
    In 1973, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual was 
excavated and removed from site 1Tu242/1Tu303. Site 1Tu242 was recorded 
by Charles Hubbert of the University of Alabama. The site is located on 
a high, flat plateau just south of where a small stream enters the 
Sipsey River flood plain and just north of the railroad in the area. 
Caleb Curren, of the University of Alabama also used this number for a 
site near Moundville, but that site has been renumbered 1Tu303. No 
human remains were recorded as being excavated. No known

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individuals are identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    In 1996, human remains representing, at minimum, one individual was 
excavated and removed from site 1Tu768, the Gerald Wiggins Site. Site 
1Tu768 was originally recorded by Margaret Scarry, John Scarry, and 
Mintcy Maxham of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. The 
Gerald Wiggins site is a Late Moundville I farmstead in the Black 
Warrior floodplain. The site was identified by the landowner, Gerald 
Wiggins, on the basis of a feature eroding from a road cut on his 
property. Surface collection yielded artifacts only in the immediate 
vicinity of the darker soil of the feature. No human remains were 
recorded as being excavated. The individual identified was housed with 
faunal remains and so it is likely it was misidentified as faunal at 
the time of excavation. No known individuals are identified. No 
associated funerary objects are present.
    During a period from the 1930s to the late 1980s, 29 lots of 
associated funerary objects were excavated and removed from Site 
1Tu500, the Moundville site, during various excavations, including 
field schools conducted by the University of Alabama. Moundville, a 
large mound complex on the banks of the Black Warrior River whose 
occupation spans the Late Woodland and the West Jefferson phase through 
the Moundville I, II, and III phases, and terminates in the Late 
Mississippian/Protohistoric Moundville IV phase, has been the subject 
of two centuries of archaeological inquiry. The 29 lots of associated 
funerary objects include ceramic vessels, ceramic sherds, discoidals, 
shell, copper, and a stone disk.
    In the 1930s and again in 1997, 69 lots of associated funerary 
objects were excavated and removed from Site 1Tu1, the Pride Place 
site. The site dates from Late Woodland, West Jefferson phase to the 
Moundville III phase. The lots of associated funerary objects include 
ceramic vessels, ceramic sherds, lithics, charcoal, ground stone, 
burial fill, discoidal, sandstone, faunal bone, and shell.

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 University of Alabama Museums has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of 23 individuals of Native American ancestry.
     The 152 lots of 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 Alabama-
Quassarte Tribal Town; Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana; Seminole Tribe of 
Florida (previously listed as Seminole Tribe of Florida; The Chickasaw 
Nation; The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; The Muscogee (Creek) Nation; 
and The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma with letters of support from the 
Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas and the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians.

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 November 
4, 2024. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the 
University of Alabama 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 University of Alabama 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: September 25, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-22885 Filed 10-3-24; 8:45 am]
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