[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 47 (Thursday, March 12, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10763-10764]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-5332]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service


Notice of Inventory Completion: County of Nacogdoches, 
Nacogdoches, TX

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 control of the County of Nacogdoches, Nacogdoches, TX. 
The human remains and associated funerary objects were removed from 
Nacogdoches County, TX.
    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 was made by the County 
of Nacogdoches through the services of qualified preservation 
professionals in consultation with representatives of the Caddo Nation 
of Oklahoma.
    In 2004, human remains representing a minimum of five individuals 
were removed from 41NA231, also known as the Tallow Grove site, in the 
Lake Naconiche project area, Nacogdoches County, TX. The removal was 
associated with archeological data recovery in an area to be impacted 
by construction and/or operation of Lake Naconiche. All human remains 
and associated funerary objects have been in the custody of the 
principal investigator. No known individuals were identified. The four 
associated funerary objects are two bowls and two jars.
    The Tallow Grove site, 41NA231, is a Middle Caddo Period habitation 
on a late Holocene terrace near Naconiche Creek. The temporal context 
is supported by recovered temporally diagnostic artifacts, radiocarbon 
analyses, and oxidizable carbon ratio dates. The main occupation of the 
site took place between the early part of the 13th century and 
approximately A.D. 1480, and was preceded by an earlier Woodland Period 
occupation that dates from 110 B.C. to A.D. 435. None of the 
radiocarbon-dated features are earlier than the Middle Caddo Period. 
The small cemetery (approximately 8 x 6 meters), situated near the 
remnants of several structures, and an extensive midden deposit and 
outdoor work area, contained the five burials with preserved human 
remains, one burial pit with no preserved human remains but with 
unassociated funerary objects, and two other burial pits with neither 
preserved human remains nor funerary objects. The mortuary practices 
and types of associated funerary objects are consistent with the 
traditions of the Caddo Indian peoples. Preserved

[[Page 10764]]

funerary offerings included pottery vessels placed near the shoulders 
or head with two of the burials. Geographic placement of the site and 
archeological evidence provide reasonable grounds for officials of the 
County of Nacogdoches to believe that the human remains and associated 
funerary objects are culturally affiliated with the Caddo Nation of 
Oklahoma.
    In 2004, human remains representing a minimum of one individual 
were removed from 41NA242, also known as the Beech Ridge site, in the 
Lake Naconiche project area, Nacogdoches County, TX. The removal was 
associated with archeological data recovery in an area to be impacted 
by construction and/or operation of Lake Naconiche. All human remains 
have been in the custody of the principal investigator. No known 
individual was identified. No associated funerary objects are present.
    The Beech Ridge site, 41NA242, is a prehistoric Caddo period 
settlement occupied from A.D. 1250 to 1430, and is generally 
contemporaneous with the nearby Tallow Grove site. The temporal context 
is supported by recovered temporally diagnostic artifacts, radiocarbon 
analyses, and oxidizable carbon ratio dates. The Middle Caddo 
occupation of the Beech Ridge site consisted of two principal 
occupational areas at the northern and southern ends of an eroded 
terrace landform that included structures, indoor and outdoor pit 
features, and activity areas around the structures. An open courtyard 
separated the two occupational or household areas. The burial with 
preserved human remains, along with one other burial pit with no 
preserved human remains or associated funerary objects, was situated 
west of the structures. Geographic placement of the site and 
archeological evidence provide reasonable grounds for officials of the 
County of Nacogdoches to believe that the human remains are culturally 
affiliated with the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma.
    In 2003, human remains representing a minimum of two individuals 
were removed from 41NA285, also known as the Boyette site, in the Lake 
Naconiche project area, Nacogdoches County, TX. The removal was 
associated with archeological data recovery in an area to be impacted 
by construction and/or operation of Lake Naconiche. All human remains 
and associated funerary objects have been in the custody of the 
principal investigator. No known individuals were identified. The one 
associated funerary object is a pottery vessel (bowl).
    The Boyette site, 41NA285, is positioned on the tip of a narrow 
upland ridge, toe slope, and small alluvial terrace. The site has a 
complex history of occupations beginning with the Late Archaic Period 
(2310-2050 B.C. to 1130-920 B.C), followed by two Woodland Period 
occupations (280-25 B.C. and A.D. 670-877), and two Prehistoric Caddo 
occupations (Formative Caddo component dating to A.D. 873-1075 and a 
Middle Caddo component). The temporal context is supported by recovered 
temporally diagnostic artifacts, radiocarbon analyses, and oxidizable 
carbon ratio dates. Radiocarbon dates place both burials in the Middle 
Caddo Period, one within a range of A.D. 1290-1410, and the other 
within a range of A.D. 1230-1300. Preserved funerary offerings included 
one pottery vessel, a Holly Fine Engraved bowl, that had been placed 
near the shoulders or head with one of the burials. Geographic 
placement of the site and archeological evidence provide reasonable 
grounds for officials of the County of Nacogdoches to believe that the 
human remains and associated funerary object are culturally affiliated 
with the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma.
    Officials of the County of Nacogdoches have determined that, 
pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (9-10), the human remains described above 
represent the physical remains of eight individuals of Native American 
ancestry. Officials of the County of Nacogdoches also have determined 
that, pursuant to 25 U.S.C. 3001 (3)(A), the five 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 County of Nacogdoches 
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 Caddo Nation of Oklahoma.
    Representatives of any other Indian tribe that believes itself to 
be culturally affiliated with the human remains and/or associated 
funerary objects should contact George Campbell, County of Nacogdoches, 
Texas, 101 West Main Street, Nacogdoches, TX 75961, telephone (936) 
569-6772, before April 13, 2009. Repatriation of the human remains and 
associated funerary objects to the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma may proceed 
after that date if no additional claimants come forward.
    The County of Nacogdoches is responsible for notifying the Caddo 
Nation of Oklahoma that this notice has been published.

    Dated: February 20, 2009.
David Tarler,
Acting Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. E9-5332 Filed 3-11-09; 8:45 am]
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