81 FR 4655 - Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: Fowler Museum at the University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 17 (January 27, 2016)

The Fowler Museum at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), in consultation with the appropriate Indian tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations, has determined that the cultural items listed in this notice meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects. Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to claim these cultural items should submit a written request to the Fowler Museum at UCLA. If no additional claimants come forward, transfer of control of the cultural items to the lineal descendants, Indian tribes, or Native Hawaiian organizations stated in this notice may proceed.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 17 (Wednesday, January 27, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4655-4657]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-01593]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-20015; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]


Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: Fowler Museum at 
the University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Fowler Museum at the University of California Los Angeles 
(UCLA), in consultation with the appropriate Indian tribes or Native 
Hawaiian organizations, has determined that the cultural items listed 
in this notice meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects. 
Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian tribe or Native 
Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice that wish to claim 
these cultural items should submit a written request to the Fowler 
Museum at UCLA. If no additional claimants come forward, transfer of 
control of the cultural items 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 
claim these cultural items should submit a written request with 
information in support of the claim to the Fowler Museum at UCLA at the 
address in this notice by February 26, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Wendy G. Teeter, Ph.D., Fowler Museum at UCLA, Box 951549, 
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1549, telephone (310) 825-1864, 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. 3005, of the intent to repatriate cultural items under the 
control of the Fowler Museum at UCLA that meet the definition of 
unassociated funerary objects under 25 U.S.C. 3001.
    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 cultural items. The National Park Service is not responsible 
for the determinations in this notice.

History and Description of the Cultural Items

    Sometime before 1972 and in 1991, 2,948 cultural items were removed 
from Encinal Canyon (CA-LAN-114) in Malibu, Los Angeles County, CA. 
Accession 752 contains 49 cultural items identified as being associated 
with the burial found in Encinal Canyon. The site has been dated 
through diagnostic artifacts and radiocarbon dating to the Late Period 
(A.D. 700-1769) through Historic contact. The human remains were not 
curated at the Fowler Museum, and therefore the burial items are 
identified as unassociated funerary objects. The unassociated funerary 
objects are 15 shell beads, 28 unmodified shell fragments, 5 
groundstone fragments, and 1 marine animal bone. Accession 871 contains 
2,899 cultural items removed by Brian Dillon during mitigation work in 
1991 on a single parcel that was given to UCLA in 2001. All human 
remains were reinterred on site along with many of the funerary 
objects. There were many more funerary objects that were not interred 
and under NAGPRA are unassociated funerary objects. The unassociated 
funerary objects are 2,779 pieces of shell, 1 bag of shell fragments, 1 
bag of charcoal, 2 pieces of worked bone, 1 piece of ochre, 10 shell 
beads, 22 grinding stones, 5 metate fragments, 45 pieces of flaked-
stone tools and debitage, 1 metal button, 26 glass fragments, 1 cement 
fragment, and 5 pieces of historic tools.
    Between 1950 and 1969, 70 cultural items were removed from the Zuma 
Creek Site (CA-LAN-174) in Los Angeles County, CA. Salvage excavations 
were conducted at the site during 1968 and 1969 by Sally MacFadyen and 
Jinny McKenzie, as well as Thomas King and the University of California 
(UC) Archaeological Survey crew. Human remains from five burials were 
accessioned by UCLA in 1969 and 1986 and are contained in a separate 
Notice of Inventory Completion. The site produced a radiocarbon date of 
circa 3000 B.C. The field notes discuss human remains from the same 
excavations not curated at UCLA; funerary objects from these burials 
are, however, present in the collection and under NAGPRA are 
unassociated funerary objects. The unassociated funerary objects are 1 
bag of shell fragments, 1 soil sample bag, 6 pieces of unmodified 
animal bone, 6 shell beads, 1 piece of burned clay, 24 ground stone 
tools, 7 stone fragments, 14 chipped-stone tools, 5 flaking cores, and 
5 cobble fragments.
    In 1967, seven cultural items were removed from Russell Valley (CA-
LAN-186) in Thousand Oaks, Los Angeles County, CA. Excavations were 
conducted by Chester King during a salvage operation of this Late 
Period site (A.D. 700-1500) initiated to recover as much information as 
possible before it was destroyed by development. Field notes indicate 
seven artifacts unearthed by contractors were pulled from a cairn in 
association with Burial 1 as well as other isolated human remains. The 
human remains were left at the site, but the curated burial items--6 
mortar fragments and 1 metate fragment--are unassociated funerary 
objects under NAGPRA.
    Between March and June 1968, one cultural item was removed from 
Trancas Canyon Cemetery (CA-LAN-197) in Malibu, Los Angeles County, CA, 
by the UC Archaeology Survey under the direction of John Beaton and 
aided by the Malibu Archaeological Society. The excavations took place 
on land owned by the Reco Land Company as a salvage project due to 
erosion and the construction of a shopping center. The collection was 
accessioned by UCLA in 1978. Radiocarbon dating from the cemetery 
estimates the site age to 370 B.C. The unassociated funerary object is 
one siltstone slab that was associated with Burial 5 (the human remains 
are not present in the collection).
    In March of 1960, 309 cultural items were removed from the Village 
of Sumo (CA-LAN-207) in Malibu, Los Angeles County, CA. This site, 
located along an eroding cliff face, was excavated by a UCLA 
archeological field course led by M.B. McKusick. The land where the 
excavation took place was owned by a private mobile home park at the 
time of excavation. The collection was accessioned by UCLA in 1960. The 
cemetery is dated to circa 3050 B.C. Field notes indicate that a 
``scattered reburial'' of human remains was found near Pit 4 with a 
concentration of shell

[[Page 4656]]

beads and discs. The human remains were never brought to UCLA, although 
the 309 shell beads and discs were. Under NAGPRA, these items are 
unassociated funerary objects.
    In 1962 and 1963, 40 cultural items were removed from Paradise Cove 
(CA-LAN-222) in Malibu, Los Angeles County, CA. The first excavations 
were undertaken by a Pasadena City College field school, supervised by 
Richard H. Brooks, in the spring of 1962. During this time excavations 
were also undertaken jointly by a Santa Monica City College and UCLA 
field course supervised by Jack Smith. These collections were 
accessioned by UCLA after receiving them from Richard Brooks of the 
Department of Anthropology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in 1987. 
In 1963, excavations continued with the joint Santa Monica City College 
and UCLA Anthropology field course directed by Chester King and Jack 
Smith. The resulting collection was accessioned by UCLA in 1964. 
Radiocarbon dating estimates age of the site is 2350 B.C. Accession 291 
includes 30 cultural items labeled as being found in association with 
human remains not in the possession of the Fowler Museum. The 
unassociated funerary objects are 1 awl fragment, 14 manos, 4 stone 
balls, 1 projectile point, 6 stone flakes, 2 hammerstones, and 2 stone 
fragments. Accession 338 includes 10 cultural items. The unassociated 
funerary objects are 1 sandstone metate that was collected from an 
unexcavated burial and 3 pestles and 6 mortar fragments from the 
general burial area that were disturbed by bulldozer activities.
    In 1963, 26 cultural items were removed when Alex Apostolides 
directed a salvage project at the Mulholland Site (CA-LAN-246) in Los 
Angeles County, CA, before the construction of housing and to offset 
the pervasive vandalism that was occurring at the time. Dating of the 
site is to the Late Period (A.D. 1200-1500). The collection was 
accessioned by UCLA in November 1978. A number of burials and 
fragmentary human remains were found at the Mulholland Site. In 
addition, a number of items were identified as associated with burials 
although the human remains were either not curated at the Fowler Museum 
or not further excavated. The unassociated funerary objects are 20 
shell ornaments, 4 unmodified animal bones, and 2 bags of charcoal.
    In 1955, 1958, and 1959, 328 cultural items were removed from 
Simo'mo (CA-VEN-24 aka VEN-26) in Ventura County, CA. UCLA field school 
excavations on private land were undertaken by Clement Meighan in 1955, 
David M. Pendergast in 1958, and by M.B. McKusick in 1959. The 
excavations were all accessioned by UCLA by 1959. The estimated age of 
the site is A.D. 300-1100. There are 328 cultural items that are 
associated with identified burials, but the human remains are not 
curated at UCLA. The unassociated funerary objects are 34 pieces of 
unmodified animal bone, 5 shell fragments, 39 shell inlaid bone tubes, 
6 shell pendant fragments, 1 projectile point, 212 shell beads, 27 
river cobbles, and 4 bowl fragments.
    In the summer of 1982, one cultural item was removed from CA-VEN-
312 in Ventura County, CA. The collection derived from excavations 
directed by Brian Dillon in front of construction for Wildwood Homes. 
The collection was received at the Fowler Museum at UCLA in two parts. 
A small portion arrived in March of 1985, and a second portion in 
August of 1997. Other than a catalog, no other documentation was 
received for the collection. The catalog indicates that there were 
human remains excavated from Feature 1, however, no remains were 
curated by Dr. Dillon for this collection. A projectile point fragment 
was identified as being ``in-situ associated'' with the missing remains 
and is therefore classified as an unassociated funerary object.
    The sites detailed in this notice have been identified through 
tribal consultation to be within the traditional territory of the 
Chumash people. These locations are consistent with ethnographic and 
historic documentation of the Chumash people.
    The Chumash territory, anthropologically defined first on the basis 
of linguistic similarities, and subsequently on broadly shared material 
and cultural traits, reaches from San Luis Obispo to Malibu on the 
coast, inland to the western edge of the San Joaquin Valley, to the 
edge of the San Fernando Valley, and includes the four Northern Channel 
Islands. The sites in this notice are located in northwestern Los 
Angeles County and Ventura County and fall within the geographical area 
identified as Chumash. Some tribal consultants state that these areas 
were the responsibility of regional leaders, who were themselves 
organized into a pan-regional association of both political power and 
ceremonial knowledge. Further, these indigenous areas are identified by 
some tribal consultants to be relational with clans or associations of 
traditional practitioners of specific kinds of indigenous medicinal and 
ceremonial practices. Some tribal consultants identified these clans as 
existing in the pre-contact period and identified some clans as also 
existing in the present day. Other tribal consultants do not recognize 
present-day geographical divisions to be related to clans of 
traditional practitioners. Ethnographic evidence suggests that the 
social and political organization of the pre-contact Channel Islands 
were primarily at the village level, with a hereditary chief, in 
addition to many other specialists who wielded power.
    The unassociated funerary objects described in this notice are 
consistent with those of groups ancestral to the present-day Chumash 
people. The material cultures of earlier groups living in the 
geographical areas mentioned in this notice are characterized by 
archeologists as having passed through stages over the past 10,000 
years. Many local archeologists assert that the changes in the material 
culture reflect evolving ecological adaptations and related changes in 
social organization of the same populations and do not represent 
population displacements or movements. The same range of artifact types 
and materials were used from the early pre-contact period until 
historic times. Tribal consultants explicitly state that population 
mixing, which did occur on a small scale, would not alter the 
continuity of the shared group identities of people associated with 
specific locales. Based on this evidence, continuity through time can 
be traced for all sites listed in this notice with present-day Chumash 
people, specifically the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians of 
the Santa Ynez Reservation, California.

Determinations Made by the Fowler Museum at UCLA

    Officials of the Fowler Museum at UCLA have determined that:
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(3)(B), the 3,730 cultural items 
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 and are believed, by a preponderance of the 
evidence, to have been removed from a specific burial site of a Native 
American individual.
     Pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001(2), there is a relationship of 
shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between the 
unassociated funerary objects and the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash 
Mission Indians of the Santa Ynez Reservation, California.

Additional Requestors and Disposition

    Lineal descendants or representatives of any Indian tribe or Native 
Hawaiian

[[Page 4657]]

organization not identified in this notice that wish to claim these 
cultural items should submit a written request with information in 
support of the claim to Wendy G. Teeter, Ph.D., Fowler Museum at UCLA, 
Box 951549, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1549, telephone (310) 825-1864, email 
[email protected], by February 26, 2016. After that date, if no 
additional claimants have come forward, transfer of control of the 
unassociated funerary objects to Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Mission 
Indians of the Santa Ynez Reservation, California, may proceed.
    The Fowler Museum at UCLA is responsible for notifying the Santa 
Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians of the Santa Ynez Reservation, 
California, that this notice has been published.

    Dated: December 21, 2015.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2016-01593 Filed 1-26-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4312-50-P