[Federal Register: December 27, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 249)]
[Notices]
[Page 81885-81886]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr27de00-113]

[[Page 81885]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

Notice of Inventory Completion for Native American Human Remains
and Associated Funerary Objects in the Possession of the Office of the
State Archaeologist, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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    Notice is hereby given in accordance with provisions of the Native
American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 43 CFR 10.9,
of the completion of an inventory of human remains and associated
funerary objects in the possession of the Office of the State
Archaeologist, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA.
    This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's
administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA, 43 CFR 10.2 (c). The
determinations within this notice are the sole responsibility of the
museum, institution, or Federal agency that has control of these Native
American human remains and associated funerary objects. The National
Park Service is not responsible for the determinations within this
notice.
    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by the Office
of the State Archaeologist, University of Iowa professional staff in
consultation with representatives of the Hopi Tribe of Arizona; the
Pueblo of Acoma, New Mexico; the Pueblo of Cochiti, New Mexico; the
Pueblo of Jemez, New Mexico; the Pueblo of Isleta, New Mexico; the
Pueblo of Laguna, New Mexico; the Pueblo of Nambe, New Mexico; the
Pueblo of Picuris, New Mexico; the Pueblo of Pojoaque, New Mexico; the
Pueblo of San Felipe, New Mexico; the Pueblo of San Juan, New Mexico;
the Pueblo of San Ildefonso, New Mexico; the Pueblo of Sandia, New
Mexico; the Pueblo of Santa Ana, New Mexico; the Pueblo of Santa Clara,
New Mexico; the Pueblo of Santo Domingo, New Mexico; the Pueblo of
Taos, New Mexico; the Pueblo of Tesuque, New Mexico; the Pueblo of Zia,
New Mexico; and the Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico.
    At an unknown date, human remains representing one individual were
removed from an unknown site near Gran Quivira, Torrance County, NM, by
an unknown local rancher. At an unknown date, these remains were
transferred to John Morrie, Ft. Madison, IA. In 1994, the Morrie family
transferred these remains to the Iowa Office of the State Archaeologist
Burials Program. No known individual was identified. No associated
funerary objects are present.
    According to available documentation, these remains were excavated
from a burial located 14 miles from Grand Quivira National Monument,
and the remains are those of a ``Piro Pueblo'' person who lived
approximately 400-700 years ago. The remains were buried sitting up.
The region around Gran Quivira, known as the Salinas District, was the
easternmost area of ancient pueblo settlements. From archeological
evidence, Puebloan peoples built numerous large settlements beginning
around A.D. 1200 and continuing up to Spanish colonial times. When the
Spaniards conquered the region in the 17th century, they identified
several groups among the pueblos, whose members spoke Piro, Tompiro,
and Southern Tiwa languages. During colonial times, the villages were
abandoned and the inhabitants were resettled at Isleta del Sur, today
the Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo of Texas, near El Paso, TX, and among other
Rio Grande pueblos in New Mexico.
    At an unknown date, human remains representing two individuals were
removed from an unknown site on a ranch near Cuba, Sandoval County, NM,
by an unknown person. At an unknown date, these remains were
transferred to John Morrie, Ft. Madison, IA. In 1994, the Morrie family
transferred these remains to the Iowa Office of the State Archaeologist
Burials Program. No known individuals were identified. No associated
funerary objects are present.
    Information provided by Mr. Morrie states that these remains were
found in isolated ruins, either pithouses or pueblos, and were buried
sitting up. Pithouses appear during the Basketmaker II period (200
B.C.-A.D. 400), and above-ground structures begin to appear in
Basketmaker III-Pueblo I (A.D. 400-900). Isolated pueblos are common
during Pueblo II (A.D. 900-1100), and are generally replaced by large
aggregated pueblos during Pueblo III (A.D. 1100-1300). The available
evidence suggests that these remains date to the late Basketmaker or
early Pueblo periods. Archeological evidence, including architecture,
social organization, material culture, and ceremonial practices,
combined with physical anthropological evidence and oral tradition
indicate that both the Basketmaker and Pueblo cultures, collectively
known as Anasazi, are ancestral to the present-day Pueblo peoples of
the southwestern United States.
    In 1943, human remains representing one individual were removed
from an unknown site near Truth or Consequences, Sierra County, NM, by
Powell Eugene Bering. At an unknown date, these remains were
transferred to John Morrie, Ft. Madison, IA. In 1994, the Morrie family
transferred these remains to the Iowa Office of the State Archaeologist
Burials Program. No known individual was identified. No associated
funerary objects are present.
    These remains have been identified as a person of the Mimbres
tradition, based on a funerary bowl that is no longer associated with
the remains. The Mimbres tradition, which flourished in southeastern
New Mexico circa A.D. 1000-1150, is noted for its distinctive black-on-
white ceramic styles. Mimbres was a local variant of the Mogollon
culture, which was found across a broad area of Arizona and New Mexico.
Archeological evidence, including ceramics, art styles, and
architecture, indicates that the people of the late Mogollon/Mimbres
tradition were a part of the Pueblo tradition.
    During the 1930's, human remains representing one individual were
removed from the area of Mesa Verde, Montezuma County, CO, by an
unknown individual. In 1982, these remains were donated to Iowa State
University, Ames, IA, and in 1994 were transferred to the Iowa Office
of the State Archaeologist Burials Program. No known individual was
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    The Mesa Verde area was the center of an important cultural
development known as the San Juan Anasazi, between A.D. 700 and A.D.
1300, archeologically classified as Pueblo I-III periods, during which
people established aggregated agricultural villages with distinctive
architecture, ceramics, and ceremonial practices. The skull in the
Office of the State Archaeologist's possession displays marked
flattening of the back of the skull (posterior parietals) related to
cradleboard use, a notable feature of the Pueblo period cultural
practices in the Mesa Verde region. Oral history, supported by the
archeological evidence for continuity of architecture, social
organization, ceremonial practices, and material culture, demonstrates
that the Anasazi of the Mesa Verde region were ancestors of the modern
Pueblo peoples.
    Based on the above-mentioned information, officials of the Office
of the State Archaeologist, University of Iowa, have determined that,
pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2 (d)(1), the human remains listed above
represent the physical remains of five individuals of Native American
ancestry. Also, officials of the

[[Page 81886]]

Office of the State Archaeologist, University of Iowa, have determined
that, pursuant to 43 CFR 10.2 (e), there is a relationship of shared
group identity that can be reasonably traced between these Native
American human remains and the Hopi Tribe of Arizona; the Pueblo of
Acoma, New Mexico; the Pueblo of Cochiti, New Mexico; the Pueblo of
Jemez, New Mexico; the Pueblo of Isleta, New Mexico; the Pueblo of
Laguna, New Mexico; the Pueblo of Nambe, New Mexico; the Pueblo of
Picuris, New Mexico; the Pueblo of Pojoaque, New Mexico; the Pueblo of
San Felipe, New Mexico; the Pueblo of San Juan, New Mexico; the Pueblo
of San Ildefonso, New Mexico; the Pueblo of Sandia, New Mexico; the
Pueblo of Santa Ana, New Mexico; the Pueblo of Santa Clara, New Mexico;
the Pueblo of Santo Domingo, New Mexico; the Pueblo of Taos, New
Mexico; the Pueblo of Tesuque, New Mexico; the Pueblo of Zia, New
Mexico; the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo of Texas; and the Zuni Tribe of the
Zuni Reservation, New Mexico.
    This notice has been sent to officials of the Hopi Tribe of
Arizona; the Pueblo of Acoma, New Mexico; the Pueblo of Cochiti, New
Mexico; the Pueblo of Jemez, New Mexico; the Pueblo of Isleta, New
Mexico; the Pueblo of Laguna, New Mexico; the Pueblo of Nambe, New
Mexico; the Pueblo of Picuris, New Mexico; the Pueblo of Pojoaque, New
Mexico; the Pueblo of San Felipe, New Mexico; the Pueblo of San Juan,
New Mexico; the Pueblo of San Ildefonso, New Mexico; the Pueblo of
Sandia, New Mexico; the Pueblo of Santa Ana, New Mexico; the Pueblo of
Santa Clara, New Mexico; the Pueblo of Santo Domingo, New Mexico; the
Pueblo of Taos, New Mexico; the Pueblo of Tesuque, New Mexico; the
Pueblo of Zia, New Mexico; the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo of Texas; and the
Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico. Representatives of any
other Indian tribe that believes itself to be culturally affiliated
with these human remains should contact Shirley Schermer, Burials
Program Director, Office of the State Archaeologist, 700 Clinton Street
Building, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, telephone (319) 384-
0740, before January 26, 2001. Repatriation of the human remains to the
Hopi Tribe of Arizona; the Pueblo of Acoma, New Mexico; the Pueblo of
Cochiti, New Mexico; the Pueblo of Jemez, New Mexico; the Pueblo of
Isleta, New Mexico; the Pueblo of Laguna, New Mexico; the Pueblo of
Nambe, New Mexico; the Pueblo of Picuris, New Mexico; the Pueblo of
Pojoaque, New Mexico; the Pueblo of San Felipe, New Mexico; the Pueblo
of San Juan, New Mexico; the Pueblo of San Ildefonso, New Mexico; the
Pueblo of Sandia, New Mexico; the Pueblo of Santa Ana, New Mexico; the
Pueblo of Santa Clara, New Mexico; the Pueblo of Santo Domingo, New
Mexico; the Pueblo of Taos, New Mexico; the Pueblo of Tesuque, New
Mexico; the Pueblo of Zia, New Mexico; the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo of
Texas; and the Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico may begin
after that date if no additional claimants come forward.

    Dated: December 11, 2000.
John Robbins,
Assistant Director, Cultural Resources Stewardship and Partnerships.
[FR Doc. 00-32918 Filed 12-26-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-70-F