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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 243 (Wednesday, December 18, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 102940-102941]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-29943]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0039214; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]

Notice of Inventory Completion: Los Angeles County Museum of 
Natural History, Los Angeles, CA

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and 
Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural 
History (LACMNH) has completed an inventory of human remains and has 
determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human 
remains and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this 
notice.

DATES: Repatriation of the human remains in this notice may occur on or 
after January 17, 2025.

ADDRESSES: Amy E. Gusick, NAGPRA Officer, Los Angeles County Museum of 
Natural History, 900 Exposition Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90007, 
telephone (213) 763-3370, email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice is published as part of the 
National Park Service's administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA. 
The determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of the 
LACMNH, and additional information on the determinations in this 
notice, including the results of consultation, can be found in its 
inventory or related records. The National Park Service is not 
responsible for the determinations in this notice.

Abstract of Information Available

    Human remains representing, at least, one individual have been 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present. The individual 
was removed from Elizabeth Lake, Deadman's Cave, Los Angeles County, 
CA. A nearly complete skeleton was found unnumbered in the LACMNH 
collections with no accession records (HSRA-46). In 1995, LACMNH 
conducted an inventory of human remains in its collections and 
identified these remains to be female with an age range at the time of 
death to be between 40-60. ``Elizabeth Lake'' is written on one of the 
bones and ``Elizabeth Lake, Deadman's Cave'' is written on the 
mandible. There are no known individuals.
    Since this initial assessment, in consultation with representatives 
of the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation (previously listed as San 
Manuel Band of Mission Indians, California), Morongo Band of Mission 
Indians, California and non-federally recognized California Indian 
groups including the Fernande[ntilde]o Tataviam Band of Mission 
Indians, the LACMNH has investigated the collection history of these 
human remains but have not been able to identify further information.
    Based on biological and geographical information, the human remains 
are determined to be Native American. Archaeologists have asserted that 
Serrano and Tataviam peoples have continuously occupied the Antelope 
Valley, the San Gabriel Mountains, and the surrounding areas for up to 
5,000-6,000 years BP. Ethnographer, John Peabody Harrington recorded 
several Serrano place names throughout the Antelope Valley during his 
interviews with Yuhaaviatam leader, Santos Manuel in 1918. Manuel's 
testimony and Serrano Traditional Knowledge identify Elizabeth Lake as 
home to Serrano peoples since time immemorial.
    Human remains representing, at least, 22 individuals have been 
identified. No associated funerary objects are present. The individuals 
were removed from the Vasquez Rocks (CA-LAN-361) site in northern Los 
Angeles County, CA. Owners of the land on which the site now rests, Dr. 
Ascher and family, spent many years digging at the site in the mid-
1900s. In 1966, the location was bulldozed by vandals. Between 1967-
1970, LACNHM curator Dr. Charles Rozaire, as part of the California 
State University, Northridge Archaeological School, held field schools 
at the site, where students and supervisors excavated the bulldozed 
site and recovered artifacts and bone originally identified as faunal 
(non-human) bone. As a result of the looting and bulldozing, the 
artifacts and bones recovered from the site were not in original 
context and were highly fragmented.
    In consultation with representatives of the Yuhaaviatam of San 
Manuel Nation (previously listed as San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, 
California) and non-federally recognized California Indian groups 
including the Fernande[ntilde]o Tataviam Band of Mission Indians, in 
2021, LACMNH conducted a detailed bioarcheological assessment of the 
bone recovered from CA-LAN-361 resulting in identification of human 
remains. The report identified 14 children with an age range between 
37-39 weeks gestation/perinate and 10-12 years old. It is likely that 
some of the children whose specific age ranges could not be assessed 
were older than 12 years. There are at least eight adults represented. 
Among them, two are likely males (represented by a mandible and a 
temporal bone fragment) and one older adult. Most of the remains are 
extremely fragmented and there are some non-human skeletal remains in 
the assemblages. Most of the remains were impacted by the history of 
vandalism and heat from cremation with varying temperatures and 
exposure. There are no known humans.
    Based on archaeological context and information learned from 
consultations, these individuals are Native American. Based on UFO 
artifact assemblage typologies, obsidian hydration readings and one 
radiocarbon date, archaeological evidence demonstrates

[[Page 102941]]

that Vasquez Rocks (CA-LAN-361) was used as a cemetery between 2315 
BCE--79 BCE (Caruso 1988, Garza 2012, King et al. 1974), the Middle 
Holocene Period. Archaeologists have asserted that Serrano and Tataviam 
peoples have continuously occupied the San Gabriel Mountains and the 
surrounding areas for up to 5,000-6,000 years BP. Linguistic sources 
demonstrate a strong continuous shared group identity between those 
people using Vasquez Rocks roughly 3000 years ago and modern Native 
Americans of Serrano and Tataviam descent. Ethnographic evidence and 
Traditional Knowledge document the Agua Dulce and Sierra Pelona regions 
as home to Serrano and Tataviam peoples since time immemorial.

Cultural Affiliation

    Based on the information available and the results of consultation, 
cultural affiliation is reasonably identified by the geographical 
location or acquisition history of the human remains described in this 
notice.

Determinations

    The LACMNH has determined that:
     The human remains described in this notice represent the 
physical remains of 23 individuals of Native American ancestry.
     There is a connection between the human remains described 
in this notice and the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation (previously 
listed as San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, California) and the 
Morongo Band of Mission Indians, California.

Requests for Repatriation

    Written requests for repatriation of the human remains in this 
notice must be sent to the authorized representative identified in this 
notice under ADDRESSES. Requests for repatriation may be submitted by:
    1. Any one or more of the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian 
organizations identified in this notice.
    2. Any lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian 
organization not identified in this notice who shows, by a 
preponderance of the evidence, that the requestor is a lineal 
descendant or an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization with 
cultural affiliation.
    Repatriation of the human remains described in this notice to a 
requestor may occur on or after January 17, 2025. If competing requests 
for repatriation are received, the LACMNH must determine the most 
appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint 
repatriation of the human remains are considered a single request and 
not competing requests. The LACMNH is responsible for sending a copy of 
this notice to the Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations 
identified in this notice.
    Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 
25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.10.

    Dated: December 11, 2024.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.
[FR Doc. 2024-29943 Filed 12-17-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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