[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 113 (Tuesday, June 12, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34987-34988]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office 
[www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-14309]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-10346; 2200-1100-665]


Notice of Inventory Completion: University of Pennsylvania Museum of 
Archaeology & Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology & 
Anthropology has completed an inventory of human remains in consultation 
with the appropriate Indian tribe and has determined that there is a 
cultural affiliation between the human remains and a present-day Indian 
tribe. Representatives of any Indian tribe that believes itself to be 
culturally affiliated with the human remains may contact the Museum. 
Repatriation of the human remains to the Indian tribe stated below may 
occur if no additional claimants come forward.

DATES: Representatives of any Indian tribe that believes it has a 
cultural affiliation with the human remains should contact the Museum at 
the address below by July 12, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Dr. Richard Hodges, Director, University of Pennsylvania 
Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, 3260 
South Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, telephone (215) 898-4050.

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 in the 
possession of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology & 
Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA. The human 
remains were removed from a site on the Platte River, near Overton, NE., 
and from an unknown site on or near the Missouri River, probably in 
Missouri or Nebraska.
    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 University 
of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology's professional staff 
in consultation with the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma.

History and Description of the Remains

    On April 18, 1820, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed from a Pawnee winter camp near the Platte River 
approximately six and half miles from Overton, in Dawson County, NE., by 
Dr. Thomas Say, zoologist for the Stephen H. Long Expedition to the Rocky 
Mountains. Upon the completion of the expedition, the human remains were 
sent to the Philadelphia Museum

[[Page 34988]]

Company, also known as the Peale Museum. At an unknown date, the human 
remains were loaned to Dr. Samuel Morton for his study of human crania. 
Dr. Morton assigned the remains the catalogue number ``P'' and sometime 
between 1846 and 1849, Dr. Morton accessioned the cranium (No. 540) into 
his collections. From approximately 1830 until Dr. Morton's death in 
1851, the Academy of Natural Science in Philadelphia provided storage 
space for much of Dr. Morton's collection, including the human remains. 
In 1853, the collection was purchased from Dr. Morton's estate and 
formally presented to the Academy. In 1966, Dr. Morton's collection, 
including these human remains (Museum accession number 97-
606-540), was loaned to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of 
Archaeology and Anthropology. In 1997, the collection was formally gifted 
to the University of Pennsylvania Museum. No known individuals were 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    The human remains have been identified as Native American based on 
the specific cultural and geographic attribution in the museum records. 
Collector's records, museum documentation, and published sources (Morton 
1839, 1840, and 1849; Meigs 1857) identify the human remains as those of 
a female Pawnee Indian who was killed in 1820 at a Pawnee winter village 
near the Platte River, in present day Nebraska. The museum documentation 
further dates the remains to the Historic Period. Scholarly publications 
indicate that the Platte River in Nebraska is the ancestral homeland of 
the Pawnee Indians before their removal to Oklahoma.
    At an unknown date, human remains representing, at minimum, one 
individual were removed by an unknown individual from a site on or near 
the Missouri River in Missouri or Nebraska. At an unknown date, the human 
remains were transferred to Dr. B.B. Brown of St. Louis, Missouri. 
Sometime prior to 1849, Dr. Brown sent the human remains to Dr. Samuel 
Morton of Philadelphia, who accessioned the human remains as No. 1043. 
From approximately 1830 until Dr. Morton's death in 1851, the Academy of 
Natural Science in Philadelphia provided storage space for much of Dr. 
Morton's collection, including the human remains. In 1853, the collection 
was purchased from Dr. Morton's estate and formally presented to the 
Academy. In 1966, Dr. Morton's collection, including these human remains 
(Museum accession number 97-606-1043), was loaned to the University of 
Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. In 1997, the 
collection was formally gifted to the University of Pennsylvania Museum. 
No known individuals were identified. No associated funerary objects are 
present.
    The human remains have been identified as Native American based on 
the specific cultural and geographic attribution in the museum records. 
Collector's records, museum documentation, and published sources (Morton 
1849; Meigs 1857) identify the human remains as those of a female Pawnee 
Indian and date them to the Historic Period.

Determinations Made by the University of Pennsylvania Museum of 
Archaeology and Anthropology

    Officials of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and 
Anthropology have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described in this 
notice represent the physical remains of two individuals 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 remain and the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    Representatives of any Indian tribe that believes itself to be 
culturally affiliated with the human remains should contact Director Dr. 
Richard Hodges, University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology & 
Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, 3260 South Street, 
Philadelphia, PA, 19104, telephone (215) 898-4050 before July 12, 2012. 
Repatriation of the human remains to the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma may 
proceed after that date if no additional claimants come forward.
    The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology 
is responsible for notifying the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma that this 
notice has been published.

    Dated: June 7, 2012.
David Tarler,
Acting Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2012-14309 Filed 6-11-12; 8:45 am]
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