84 FR 11819 - Notice of Inventory Completion: Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of Archaeology, Nashville, TN

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of Archaeology, has completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects in consultation with the appropriate Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and present- day Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to request transfer of control of these human remains and associated funerary objects should submit a written request to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of Archaeology. If no additional requestors come forward, transfer of control of the human remains to the lineal descendants, Indian Tribes, or Native Hawaiian organizations stated in this notice may proceed.

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 60 (Thursday, March 28, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11819-11820]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2019-05992]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0027385; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Inventory Completion: Tennessee Department of 
Environment and Conservation, Division of Archaeology, Nashville, TN

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, 
Division of Archaeology, has completed an inventory of human remains 
and associated funerary objects in consultation with the appropriate 
Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations and has determined that 
there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and present-
day Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations. Lineal descendants 
or representatives of any Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization 
not identified in this notice that wish to request transfer of control 
of these human remains and associated funerary objects should submit a 
written request to the Tennessee Department of Environment and 
Conservation, Division of Archaeology. If no additional requestors come 
forward, transfer of control of the human remains to the lineal 
descendants, Indian Tribes, or Native Hawaiian organizations stated in 
this notice may proceed.

DATES: Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian Tribe or 
Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to 
request transfer of control of these human remains and associated 
funerary objects should submit a written request with information in 
support of the request to the Tennessee Department of Environment and 
Conservation, Division of Archaeology at the address in this notice by 
April 29, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, 
Division of Archaeology, Michael C. Moore, 1216 Foster Avenue, Cole 
Bldg 3, Nashville, TN 37243, telephone (615) 687-4776, email 
[email protected].

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 and 
associated funerary objects under the control of the Tennessee 
Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of Archaeology, 
Nashville, TN. The human remains and associated funerary objects were 
removed from Chattanooga, Hamilton County, TN.
    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.

Consultation

    A detailed assessment of the human remains was made by the 
Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Division of 
Archaeology professional staff in consultation with representatives of 
The Muscogee (Creek) Nation.

History and Description of the Remains

    Between April and July 2007, human remains representing, at 
minimum, 189 individuals were removed from privately-owned property, 
the David Davis Farm site 40HA301, Chattanooga, Hamilton County, TN, 
during construction related to a privately-funded commercial venture. A 
local private consultant, Alexander Archaeological Consultants, 
conducted the removal. The Tennessee Division of Archaeology received 
the human skeletal remains and associated burial objects in the summer 
of 2009, and subsequently entered into an agreement with Middle 
Tennessee State University (MTSU) to prepare a comprehensive human 
skeletal inventory. The 2,132 associated funerary objects include: 305 
projectile points, 12 discoidals, eight scrapers, six bi-pointed 
blades, six knives, six bifaces, five celts (including one greenstone 
spatulate celt, one greenstone celt, and two celt blanks), five 
hammerstones, four abraders, three blades, one drill, one stone pipe, 
87 ceramic beads, 10 complete or partial ceramic vessels, four ceramic 
pipes, one ceramic disc, 1,270 shell beads, 17 shell pins, nine shell 
masks, eight shell gorgets (most Citico-style rattlesnake), two shell 
earplugs, two shell ear spools, 51 other worked/unworked shell objects, 
68 worked/unworked animal bone objects, seven metal objects (including 
two beads and one hilt pommel), and 234 lots of assorted minerals 
(ochre, hematite, galena, and quartz).
    Based on the associated funerary objects, the David Davis Farm site 
represents a late Mississippian/protohistoric occupation with evidence 
of Spanish contact.

Determinations Made by the Tennessee Department of Environment and 
Conservation, Division of Archaeology

    Officials of the Tennessee Department of Environment and 
Conservation, Division of Archaeology have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(9), the human remains described 
in this notice represent the physical remains of 189 individuals of 
Native American ancestry.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(A), the 2,132 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.
     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 Muscogee 
(Creek) Nation.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian tribe or Native 
Hawaiian

[[Page 11820]]

organization not identified in this notice that wish to request 
transfer of control of these human remains and associated funerary 
objects should submit a written request with information in support of 
the request to Michael C. Moore, Tennessee Department of Environment 
and Conservation, Division of Archaeology, 1216 Foster Avenue, Cole 
Bldg. 3, Nashville, TN 37243, telephone (615) 687-4776, email 
[email protected], by April 29, 2019. After that date, if no 
additional requestors have come forward, transfer of control of the 
human remains and associated funerary objects to The Muscogee (Creek) 
Nation may proceed.
    The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Division 
of Archaeology is responsible for notifying The Muscogee (Creek) Nation 
that this notice has been published.

    Dated: February 25, 2019.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2019-05992 Filed 3-27-19; 8:45 am]
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