Anasazi Basket Analysis for NAGPRA Purposes

archived

This grant has two goals. One is to assist Reclamation in its Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) compliance by having Mercyhurst Archaeological Institute (henceforth Mercyhurst) document the basketry evidence for cultural affiliation with the 16 tribes claiming cultural affiliation. The basketry report and findings will not establish cultural affiliation; rather, the findings will be compiled with other lines of evidence so Reclamation can weigh the preponderance of the evidence for cultural affiliation. In other words, Mercyhurst will analyze basketry from the collections from the two Reclamation reservoirs, document the distinct patterns of manufacture, style, or distribution of the basketry or textiles by the earlier groups or archaeological culture units represented in the collections, and determine if there is a shared group identity that can be reasonably traced between any or all of the claimant Indian tribes and the earlier groups. The product produced by Mercyhurst Archaeological Institute will be a descriptive report on the basketry from the two reservoirs and it will contain a finding or determination on cultural affiliation with the claimant tribes based on their historic or ethnographic basketry or textile traditions.

High