THE UTLAUT SITE (23SA162W): AN ONEOTA-HISTORIC MISSOURI BURIAL SITE
by
Patricia J. O’Brien and Kevin Hart
The Utlaut site (23SA162W) is located on the floodplain of the Missouri River about one mile west of Malta Bend, Saline County, Missouri and approximately two miles northwest of the junction of Highway 65 and 127.
The site is situated on land owned by Oscar John of Sweet Springs, Missouri and was farmed by Ryland Utlaut of Grand Pass. Both kindly allowed us to excavate there. We were directed to the site by J. M. “Buster” Crick of Corder, Missouri, a local collector who had been finding ceramics which looked “Mississippian.” His aid was invaluable, for without it this work could not have been done.
Scattered occupational debris was found covering an area ca. 100 feet in diameter around our test, but the major materials recovered, in six burials, seem not to be related to the surface debris. Those materials will be reported in a later paper dealing with site 23SA162, the Cole Lake Sand Ridge site.
As mentioned, the Utlaut site is situated on the floodplain of the river. The area, though, is in reality an old beach of the Missouri, formed when the river swung south of its present course and came near Grand Pass. Because the soil was almost pure sand, all of it was screened.
The initial test was an east-west trench comprising five alternating squares ([Fig. 2]). Burial materials were found between stakes 35W and 55W north and south of the 0 line ([Fig. 2]). Remains of five burials were recovered. While a few bones were treated as a separate burial in the field (Burial 5), they were found to be related to Burial 2 on completion of the analysis. The bones in burials 1 through 5 were in very poor condition, and because of cultivation many are missing.