FR Doc E6-14933
[Federal Register: September 11, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 175)]
[Notices]
[Page 53470-53473]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr11se06-107]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
Notice of Inventory Completion: University of Colorado Museum,
Boulder, CO
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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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 in the possession of the University of Colorado Museum,
Boulder, CO. The human remains and associated funerary objects were
removed from Montezuma County, CO.
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.
A detailed assessment of the human remains and associated funerary
objects was made by University of Colorado Museum 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 Cochiti, 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 San Juan, New Mexico; Pueblo of Sandia, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa
Ana, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa Clara, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santo
Domingo, New Mexico; Pueblo of Taos, New Mexico; Pueblo of Tesuque, New
Mexico; Pueblo of Zia, New Mexico; Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the
Southern Ute Reservation, Colorado; Ute Mountain Tribe of the Ute
Mountain Reservation, Colorado, New Mexico & Utah; Ysleta del Sur
Pueblo of Texas; and Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico.
Between 1954 and 1990, human remains representing a minimum of 229
individuals were removed from three sites near Yellow Jacket Pueblo
(5MT1, 5MT2, and 5MT3), Montezuma County, CO, during legally conducted
excavations by Dr. Joe Ben Wheat and students participating in
University of Colorado Museum sponsored archeological field schools.
Human remains and associated funerary objects were physically
transferred to the museum at the end of each field season through 1990.
No known individuals were identified. The 488 associated funerary
objects are 166 ceramic vessels (whole and fragmentary), some of which
have black-on-white designs, human figures, animal figures, or are gray
ware; 45 lots of sherds, including 17 single sherds; 5 lots of
unmodified animal bone; 45 ground stone tools and slabs, including
manos, hammerstones, axes, tchamahias, and mauls; 17 bone tools,
including awls, scrapers, and whistles; 16 matting fragments; 8 beads,
pendants, and ornaments; 28 lots of stone cores and flakes; 1 lot of
gizzard stone; 125 soil samples; 15 lots of organic material; 13 flaked
stone tools, including projectile points; 1 sample of adobe material;
and 3 pieces of ochre.
The three habitation sites, (identified on the National Register of
Historic Places as the Joe Ben Wheat Site Complex), are at the head of
Yellow Jacket Canyon to the west of Tatum Draw and southwest of the
very large archeological site, Yellow Jacket Pueblo (5MT5). The Yellow
Jacket burials were predominantly single interments, appearing in a
wide variety of locations, including abandoned rooms and kivas, storage
pits, subfloor burial pits, extramural burial pits, and middens.
The habitation sites were occupied at various times during the
Basketmaker III, Pueblo II and Pueblo III periods, approximately A.D.
550-1250, with a temporary abandonment during the Pueblo I period,
approximately A.D. 750-900. Based on the general continuity in the
material culture and the architecture of these sites, it appears that
the community that lived in this area had long-standing ties to the
region and returned to sites even after migrations away from the locale
that lasted more than one hundred years.
[[Page 53471]]
However, by the late 13th century, both the Yellow Jacket sites and the
nearby Mesa Verde region showed no evidence of human habitation. The
sites are not used again until the 1920s when the locale was
homesteaded and farmed.
On an unknown date, probably in the 1920s or early 1930s, human
remains representing a minimum of one individual were excavated from
Montezuma Valley, Montezuma County, CO, most likely by Earl Morris, as
a part of a University of Colorado Museum expedition. The human remains
were not cataloged until they were donated to the museum by Mr.
Morris's family in 1962 (Catalog number 4794). No known individual was
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
Based on osteological characteristics and excavator history, the
human remains are Native American. The osteological characteristics
indicate the human remains are consistent with better-documented
Ancestral Puebloan remains from southwestern Colorado dating to circa
A.D. 750-1300.
On an unknown date, probably in the 1920s or early 1930s, human
remains representing a minimum of two individuals were excavated from a
site or sites near the Yellow Jacket Pueblo ruin, Montezuma County, CO,
by Earl Morris as a part of a University of Colorado Museum field
expedition. The human remains were cataloged by the museum in the early
1930s (Catalog numbers 4795 and 13377). No known individuals were
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
Based on osteological characteristics and excavator history, the
human remains are Native American. The osteological characteristics
indicate the human remains are consistent with better-documented
Ancestral Puebloan remains from southwestern Colorado dating to circa
A.D. 750-1300.
Some time in the 1920s or 1930s, human remains representing a
minimum of one individual were most likely removed from the area of the
Yellow Jacket Pueblo (5MT5), Montezuma County, CO, by Earl Morris, and
later cataloged by the museum (Catalog number 4796). No known
individual was identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
Based on osteological characteristics, the human remains are Native
American. The extreme wear on the teeth and other osteological
characteristics are consistent with other Ancestral Puebloan human
remains from southwestern Colorado dating to circa A.D. 750-1300.
Museum documentation indicates the human remains date to the Pueblo III
period.
In 1955, human remains representing a minimum of one individual
were surface collected from site 5MT10 in Montezuma County, CO, by Dr.
J.B. Wheat of the University of Colorado Museum, and cataloged into the
collection (Catalog number 9279). The site is approximately four miles
north of Dolores, CO, and half a mile west of the Dolores River. No
known individual was identified. No associated funerary objects are
present.
Based on Dr. Wheat's notes about the styles of pottery sherds and
architecture, the human remains are Native American, specifically,
Ancestral Puebloan dating to circa A.D. 750-900.
In 1956, human remains representing a minimum of four individuals
were excavated from a site close to the house on the L.A. Simmons farm,
Montezuma County, CO, by Dr. J.B. Wheat of the University of Colorado
Museum. The farm is several miles west of the Yellow Jacket Pueblo
ruin. The excavations were done with the landowner's permission,
donated to the museum by the landowner, and cataloged into the
collection (Catalog numbers 19290-19292 and 99524). No known
individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects are
present.
Based on the archeological context, the human remains are Native
American. The human remains were found in the fill of a slab-lined room
that was estimated to date to the Pueblo I period, approximately A.D.
750-900.
On an unknown date, human remains representing a minimum of one
individual were excavated in the area of the Yellow Jacket Pueblo
(5MT5), Montezuma County, CO, by an unknown individual. The human
remains were anonymously donated to the museum in the mid-1980s and
cataloged into the collection (Catalog number 39423). No known
individual was identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
Osteological characteristics indicate the human remains are Native
American. Based on the extreme wear on the teeth and other osteological
characteristics, the human remains are reasonably believed to be
Ancestral Puebloan and date to between A.D. 750 and 1300.
In 1987, human remains representing a minimum of two individuals
were removed from the Yellow Jacket Pueblo (5MT5), Montezuma County,
CO, by a University of Colorado Museum field school survey and
cataloged into the collection (Catalog numbers 41400 and 41414). No
known individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects are
present.
Based on archeological context, the human remains are Native
American. Based on the material culture, occupation dates, and
architecture associated with the site, the human remains date to
approximately A.D. 1000-1300.
In 1958, human remains representing a minimum of nine individuals
were removed from Paul Wilson's farm, Montezuma County, CO, by Dr. J.B.
Wheat and two graduate students from the University of Colorado Museum
with permission of the landowner. Several individuals were removed from
a plowed field by Mr. Wilson prior to the University of Colorado
Museum's excavation. The Wilson farm is several miles southwest of the
Yellow Jacket Pueblo (5MT5). A state site-number, 5MT33, was assigned
to the site by Dr. Wheat, but apparently never registered with the
state. The human remains were donated to the museum by the landowner
and cataloged into the museum collections (Catalog numbers 44446-44446-
5). No known individuals were identified. No associated funerary
objects are present.
Based on the archeological context, the human remains are Native
American. Based on the material culture and architecture associated
with the site, the human remains date to approximately A.D. 550-1300.
On an unknown date, but probably between the 1960s and 1980s, human
remains representing a minimum of one individual were excavated from
one of the sites in the area of the Yellow Jacket Pueblo (5MT5),
Montezuma County, CO, most likely by a University of Colorado Museum
field school investigation. In 1993, the fragmentary human remains were
discovered in museum storage with other human remains from the Yellow
Jacket area sites. The human remains were assigned a number that
suggests they came from a University of Colorado Museum field school
investigation (Catalog number Field 78-22-SOC). No known individual was
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
Based on museum records, the human remains probably come from the
Yellow Jacket area, but the burial location cannot be specifically
placed. Based on the archeological context, the human remains are
Native American and Ancestral Puebloan dating to approximately A.D.
1000-1300, the date range within the various occupations of the Yellow
Jacket Pueblo.
On an unknown date, human remains representing a minimum of two
[[Page 53472]]
individuals were removed from a site near Yellow Jacket Pueblo (5MT5),
Montezuma County, CO, by an unknown individual. In 1995, the human
remains were anonymously donated and cataloged into the museum
collection (Catalog numbers 1995-19-2 (1) and 1995-19-2 (2)). No known
individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects are
present.
Based on associated notes, the human remains are reasonably
believed to be Native American. The notes suggest that the human
remains were excavated from a ``prehistoric'' site close to the Yellow
Jacket Pueblo site and are reasonably believed to be Ancestral
Puebloan, dating to approximately A.D. 1000-1300, the date range within
the various occupations of the Yellow Jacket Pueblo.
All individuals listed in this Notice of Inventory Completion are
reasonably believed to be Ancestral Puebloan based on the archeological
context, biological evidence, or site dating. Biological evidence, such
as cranial shaping or cradleboarding and extreme tooth wear, are
typical traits associated with ancestral Puebloans. Archeological
evidence supports identification with Basketmaker and later Pueblo
(Hisatsinom, Ancestral Puebloan, or Anasazi) cultures, which
prehistorically occupied southwestern Colorado. Both Basketmaker and
Pueblo occupations are represented in the archeology at the Yellow
Jacket site. Archeologists have noted in the scientific literature the
striking similarity between the technology and style of material
culture of 13th century archeological sites in southwestern Colorado
and the material culture remains of 14th century Puebloan sites in
Arizona and New Mexico.
Oral-tradition evidence, which consisted of migration stories, clan
histories, and origin stories, was provided by representatives of the
Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Navajo Nation, Arizona, New Mexico & Utah;
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 Pojoaque, New Mexico; Pueblo of San Ildefonso, New
Mexico; Pueblo of San Juan, 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 Ysleta del Sur, New Mexico;
Pueblo of Zia, New Mexico; and Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New
Mexico. Folkloric evidence in the form of songs was provided by tribal
representatives of the Pueblo of Acoma, New Mexico; Pueblo of Cochiti,
New Mexico; Pueblo of Isleta, New Mexico; Pueblo of Nambe, New Mexico;
and Pueblo of San Ildefonso New Mexico. Tribal representatives of the
Pueblo of Acoma, New Mexico; Pueblo of Nambe, New Mexico; Pueblo of San
Ildefonso, New Mexico; and Pueblo of Taos, New Mexico provided
linguistic evidence rooted in place names. Pueblo of Cochiti, New
Mexico; Pueblo of Nambe, New Mexico; Pueblo of San Ildefonso, New
Mexico; and Pueblo of Santa Clara New Mexico provided archeological
evidence based on architecture and material culture of their shared
relationship.
Archeological, historical, and linguistic evidence presently point
to Navajo migration to the Yellow Jacket and Monument Ruin area after
A.D. 1300. During consultation, the Navajo Nation, Arizona, New Mexico,
& Utah emphasized their long presence in the Four Corners and their
origin in this area, but there is not a preponderance of the evidence
to support Navajo cultural affiliation to the human remains described
in this notice.
Based on a preponderance of evidence, a shared group identity can
be traced between ancestral Puebloan peoples from Montezuma County, CO,
including oral tradition, archeology, and scientific studies, and
modern Puebloan groups. Modern Puebloan peoples are members of the Hopi
Tribe of Arizona; Pueblo of Acoma, New Mexico; Pueblo of Cochiti, 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 San
Juan, New Mexico; Pueblo of Sandia, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa Ana,
New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa Clara, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santo Domingo,
New Mexico; Pueblo of Taos, New Mexico; Pueblo of Tesuque, New Mexico;
Pueblo of Zia, New Mexico; Ysleta del Sur Pueblo of Texas; and Zuni
Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico.
Officials of the University of Colorado Museum have determined
that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (9-10), the human remains described
above represent the physical remains of at least 253 individuals of
Native American ancestry. Officials of the University of Colorado
Museum also have determined that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (3)(A),
the 488 objects described above 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. Lastly, officials of the
University of Colorado Museum have determined that, 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 Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Pueblo of
Acoma, New Mexico; Pueblo of Cochiti, 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 San Juan, New Mexico; Pueblo of
Sandia, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa Ana, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa
Clara, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santo Domingo, New Mexico; Pueblo of Taos,
New Mexico; Pueblo of Tesuque, New Mexico; Pueblo of Zia, New Mexico;
Ysleta del Sur Pueblo of Texas; and Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation,
New Mexico.
Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to
be culturally affiliated with the human remains and associated funerary
objects should contact Steve Lekson, Curator of Anthropology,
University of Colorado Museum, Henderson Building, Campus Box 218,
Boulder, CO 80309-0218, telephone (303) 492-6671, before October 11,
2006. Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects
to the Hopi Tribe of Arizona; Pueblo of Acoma, New Mexico; Pueblo of
Cochiti, 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 San Juan, New Mexico; Pueblo of Sandia, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa
Ana, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa Clara, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santo
Domingo, New Mexico; Pueblo of Taos, New Mexico; Pueblo of Tesuque, New
Mexico; Pueblo of Zia, New Mexico; Ysleta del Sur Pueblo of Texas; and
Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico may proceed after that
date if no additional claimants come forward.
University of Colorado Museum is responsible for notifying the Hopi
Tribe of Arizona; Navajo Nation, Arizona, New Mexico & Utah; Pueblo of
Acoma, New Mexico; Pueblo of Cochiti, 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
[[Page 53473]]
Mexico; Pueblo of San Ildefonso, New Mexico; Pueblo of San Juan, New
Mexico; Pueblo of Sandia, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santa Ana, New Mexico;
Pueblo of Santa Clara, New Mexico; Pueblo of Santo Domingo, New Mexico;
Pueblo of Taos, New Mexico; Pueblo of Tesuque, New Mexico; Pueblo of
Zia, New Mexico; Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the Southern Ute
Reservation, Colorado; Ute Mountain Tribe of the Ute Mountain
Reservation, Colorado, New Mexico & Utah; Ysleta del Sur Pueblo of
Texas; and Zuni Tribe of the Zuni Reservation, New Mexico that this
notice has been published.
Dated: August 24, 2006.
Sherry Hutt,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. E6-14933 Filed 9-8-06; 8:45 am]
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