Juntunen Site, Archaeological site on Bois Blanc Island, Michigan, United States.
The Juntunen Site is an archaeological site on Bois Blanc Island in Michigan that occupies two acres of land positioned near the lakeshore. The place sits roughly 600 feet from the water and about 17 feet above lake level.
Archaeological excavations from 1960 to 1963 uncovered 65 human burials and over 100,000 pottery fragments representing at least 600 different vessels. These discoveries revealed that people occupied this location continuously across many generations.
The site served as a seasonal fishing settlement during the Late Woodland period, with evidence of sturgeon and whitefish processing that was central to community life. The remains tell us how dependent people were on the lake's resources for survival.
The site is not open to the public, but researchers and interested people can access documentation and artifact collections through the University of Michigan's archaeology department. Those interested in studying the finds should contact the university or state preservation offices directly.
This is the only known site from the Late Woodland period where copper working was documented, showing advanced metalworking skills from around 800 to 1400 AD. The metalworkers here mastered techniques that were uncommon and sophisticated for their era.
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