The Juntunen site, also known as 20MK1, is a stratified prehistoric Late Woodland fishing village located on the western tip of Bois Blanc Island.

[8] The Juntunen site was discovered in 1932 by Robert Braidwood of the University of Michigan, who found human remains eroding from the surface of a group of mounds.

The presence of ossuaries is evidence of cultural practices which are documented in early historic accounts of the Huron Feast of the Dead and similar ceremonies.

[4] The major species present were sturgeon, whitefish, beaver, bald eagle, dog (both as food and ceremonial burials), loon and walleye.

[4] Several plant remains were recovered from the site, including birch bark, hazelnut, maize, fire cherry and blackberry.

[4] Due to the extremely large sample size of pottery sherds, and the stratified nature of the site, the researchers were able to present a detailed record of cultural development and discern relationships with other regions.

Three indigenous Late Woodland phases of pottery types were identified: Mackinac, Bois Blanc and Juntunen.

These are common at other sites in the area and could be interpreted as “toy” pots or attempts by young children to practice making pottery.

[4][10][9] Three types of Bois Blanc ware are defined:[4] 1,031 rim and decorated body sherds were recovered, representing at least 309 vessels.

The Blackduck pottery is characterized by rounded vessels with recurved rims; cordmarked surfaces decorated by cord-wrapped stick or by punctates.

[4] Ramey Incised is a Middle Mississippian pottery type first identified at the Cahokia Old Village site in southern Illinois.

It has also been recovered at Carcajou Point in Wisconsin, but its presence at Juntunen marks the northernmost occurrence of any Middle Mississippian pottery type.

[4][9] The Juntunen site provides a detailed record of Late Woodland cultural development from approximately 800 A.D. through the 1400s A.D. Because of its centralized location relative to the Great Lakes, and the importance of water travel in prehistoric times, it shows influences from all directions.

It is suggested that the ossuary burials were a tradition that later grew into the elaborate ceremonies such as the Huron Feast of the Dead, after European contact and the fur trade had transformed Native American cultures in the region.

[4][5] The researchers determined the seasonality of the site to be May through October, based on analysis of the species of animal bone and plant remains present.