# Notice of Inventory Completion: University of Florida-Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, FL
**AGENCY:**
National Park Service, Interior.
**ACTION:**
Notice.
**SUMMARY:**
In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the University of Florida-Florida Museum of Natural History has completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.
**DATES:**
Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice may occur on or after January 20, 2026.
**ADDRESSES:**
Send written requests for repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice to David Blackburn, University of Florida, Florida Museum of Natural History, 1659 Museum Road, Gainesville, FL 32611, 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 University of Florida-Florida Museum of Natural History, 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, two individuals have been identified from the Little Salt Springs (8SO18), in Sarasota County, Florida. The 14,604 associated funerary objects include shell, faunal bone, and nine fragments of ceramic pottery. This site is a submerged, multi-component site from the Paleo-Indian and Archaic periods. Accession 4165 was presented by amateur archaeologists, Col. William Royal, November 3rd, 1959. Accession 2002-53 was found in a cabinet during skeletal reorganization during the summer of 2002. The Ancestor was labeled as “8UW72, WR-1959-061”. Jim Dunbar believed that this accession is associated with Goggin and Clausen 1959. Accession 2003-13 was loaned to Arizona State University (ASU). ASU transferred it back in 2003; it was part of a bulk transfer (including accessions 2003-12 and 14). All of these accessions had ties to the Florida Bureau of Archaeological research, but it was agreed to transfer the accessions to the Florida Museum of Natural History for curation.
**Cultural Affiliation**
Based on the information available and the results of consultation, cultural affiliation is clearly identified by the information available about the human remains and associated funerary objects described in this notice.
**Determinations**
The University of Florida-Florida Museum of Natural History has determined that:
• The human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of two individuals of Native American ancestry.
• The 14,604 objects described in this notice are reasonably believed to have been placed intentionally with or near individual human remains at the time of death or later as part of the death rite or ceremony.
• There is a connection between the human remains and associated funerary objects described in this notice and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians and the Seminole Tribe of Florida.
**Requests for Repatriation**
Written requests for repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects 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 and associated funerary objects described in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after January 20, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the University of Florida-Florida Museum of Natural History must determine the most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects are considered a single request and not competing requests. The University of Florida-Florida Museum of Natural History 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 3, 2025.
Melanie O'Brien,
Manager, National NAGPRA Program.