In March 1982, the Bureau of Land Management (Utah) assisted by Archaeological Environmental Research Corporation, Bountiful, Utah, removed a human burial from Pariette Draw, Uintah County, Utah (see the back cover for location). The burial had been intentionally interred within a narrow, vertical crevice in a lone, fractured sandstone monolith. Its restricted position precluded use of routine state-of-the-art excavations on site, thus an alternate strategy was developed. A sheet metal scoop was devised and used to remove the burial bundle, surrounding materials and enclosed soils. These essentially intact materials were then transported to the laboratory for excavation and analysis.
The body, wrapped in a buffalo robe, was partially articulated and surrounded by numerous textiles and artifacts. The good preservation of the body, coupled with its recent historic age and artifact accompaniments, attracted experts who graciously donated their time to study and analyze the materials. The results of those studies are presented herein and comparatively related to extant data on other Ute burials and burial practices in the region.
Analysis of the skeletal remains and associated materials showed the individual to be a male Ute Indian, interred between 1850 and 1875, most likely 1860-1870; his age was 27-30 years. Following study, the body was returned to the Ute Tribe, Uintah and Ouray Reservation, and reburied in April 1983.