In “2001”, prehistoric ape/men found a 1x3x9 foot (?) black monolith, apparently planted to somehow stimulate their minds and guide them toward sentience/intelligence. In [year] 2001, astronauts dig up an identical one on the Moon, which transmits a shrieking signal to Jupiter when sunlight strikes. A spaceship is sent to the apparent target of the signal, where ... well things get kinda weird as the protagonist’s mind gets stretched beyond the author’s imagination.
Hence the references regarding this thing being found in Utah.