Juntunen Site | |
 Aerial view of the Juntunen Site | |
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| Location | Western tip ofBois Blanc Island[2] |
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| Coordinates | 45°49′0″N84°35′0″W / 45.81667°N 84.58333°W /45.81667; -84.58333 |
| Area | 2 acres (0.81 ha) |
| NRHP reference No. | 78001504[1] |
| Added to NRHP | March 21, 1978 |
TheJuntunen Site, also known as20MK1, is a stratified prehistoricLate Woodland fishing village located on the western tip ofBois Blanc Island.[3][4][5] It was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places in 1978.[1]
The Juntunen Site is located on a low sand beach about 600 feet from and 17 feet above the current lakeshore.[3] The site was a large seasonal fishing camp[6] covering approximately 2 acres (0.81 ha).[1] It was likely a seasonal fall fishing village similar to the nearbyScott Point site.[7] The site also contains fiveossuaries, plus an infant burial and additional remains collected from the surface.[6] The site was used during the LateWoodland period (c. 800 A.D.-1400 A.D.)[8] The burials primarily dated from 1200 to 1400 AD.[6] The frequent but seasonal occupation of the site led to a stratified layering of archaeological remains at the site, consisting of up to 25 separate layers.[8]
The Juntunen Site was discovered in 1932 by Robert Braidwood of theUniversity of Michigan, who found human remains eroding from the surface of a group of mounds.[6] Excavations were carried out over the next few years. Mr. Charles Juntunen, the property owner of the site, discovered more remains in 1959 while bulldozing a road. Juntunen contacted The University of Michigan, and the University's Alan McPherron and James Griffin conducted multiple excavations from 1960 to 1963.[6]
The excavations yielded features, humanburials, prehistoricartifacts, animal bone, and plant remains.[4]
The excavators recorded 25 stratigraphic layers which represented 6 occupations and 3 phases with 2 intermediate phases where the site was apparently unoccupied for extended periods of time:[4]
Excluding the intermediate phases, the sequence is generalized as: Mackinac Phase, c. 800 A.D.-1000 A.D.; Bois Blanc Phase 1000 A.D.-1200 A.D.; Juntunen Phase 1200-1400 A.D.[5]
Features present at the site included hearths, pits (large and small) and animal burials (dog,snowshoe hare andbald eagle). Hundreds of post molds were found but except for the outlines of alonghouse, no other structures could be discerned.[4]
There were 65 burials, some of them inossuaries. The presence of ossuaries is evidence of cultural practices which are documented in earlyhistoric accounts of theHuronFeast of the Dead and similar ceremonies. 10 out of the 65 burials had a piece or plaque of bone from thecranium removed, a practice not seen in early historic times.[4]
The major species present weresturgeon,whitefish,beaver,bald eagle,dog (both as food and ceremonial burials),loon andwalleye. Fully 85% of the bones belonged to fish species. These bones were unmodified, unlike the worked bone artifacts discussed in the “Artifacts” section, and are interpreted as food remains.[4]
Several plant remains were recovered from the site, includingbirch bark,hazelnut,maize,fire cherry andblackberry. Juntunen marks the furthest northerly appearance of maize in the prehistoric archaeological record.[4]
Artifacts recovered from the site included:[4]
One individual buried in one of the ossuaries contained an unusual personal kit containing tools, skins, animal bones, a red stone tablet and a strike-a-light set. No other individuals had grave goods so it may be that this individual was prominent in the community or that we was ashaman ormedicine man.[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. In addition, 4 "foreign" pottery types were also present:Late WoodlandBlackduck and Point Sauble,Upper MississippianOneota andMiddle Mississippian Ramey ware. A few other pottery types were also present in trace amounts.[4]
Miniature vessels were also present at Juntunen (91 sherds representing at least 21 vessels). 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]
1,713 sherds were recovered, representing at least 631 vessels. This pottery is characterized by rounded, generally squat vessels with well-defined shoulders and tempered by coarse grittemper. Surface finish is generally cord-wrapped paddle impressed with decorations applied by cord-wrapped paddle or twisted cords and punctates. No collars or castellations appear during this phase. Similar pottery dating to theLate Woodland has been reported from the Heins Creek site inWisconsin.[4][9]
Five types of Mackinaw ware are defined:[4]
793 sherds were recovered, representing at least 138 vessels. Characterized by rounded vessels lacking the well-defined shoulders of Mackinac Ware; cord-wrapped stick and twisted cord exterior decoration; lips thickened by either folding over the clay or addition of a clay strip; and castellated, straight to slightly everted rims. This pottery has similarities to otherLate Woodland wares including Blackduck, Heins Creek and Point Sauble.[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. This pottery is characterized by round bodied vessels without pronounced shoulders; less decoration with cords and cord-wrapped objects; collared and everted rims; punctate and drag-and-jab decoration. Similar to pottery found in SouthwestOntario including earlyOntarioIroquois.[4]
Three types of Juntunen ware are defined:
154 rim sherds representing at least 45 vessels of Blackduck Ware was also present at the site.[4] Blackduck was aLate Woodland culture encompassing a vast territory inCanada and the extreme north of theUnited States, centered on the north shore ofLake Superior.[5] Blackduck has been dated from about 900 A.D. to earlyHistoric period (c. 1600s A.D.). The Blackduck pottery is characterized by rounded vessels with recurved rims;cordmarked surfaces decorated by cord-wrapped stick or by punctates. It appears at Juntunen in Occupation A in the Mackinac Phase and may extend into the Bois Blanc Phase but was probably no longer being made during the Juntunen Phase.[4]
Earlier researchers have developed typologies for Blackduck,[11][12] but the researchers at Juntunen recognized 2 types defined from the Juntunen assemblage:[4]
Point Sauble collared is a pottery type associated with theLate Woodland Effigy Mound culture of eastern Wisconsin.[5] 40 sherds representing at least 15 vessels were recovered at Juntunen, mostly associated with the Bois Blanc Phase.[4] Similar pottery has been reported fromAztalan, aMiddle Mississippian site in southernWisconsin.[10] This pottery is characterized bycordmarked surfaces and cord-wrapped stick decoration on the rim and neck. Rims are braced and the 2 of the Juntunen specimens have angular orifices like those reported atAztalan.[4]
Eleven sherds representing a single vessel were present at Juntunen.[4] Ramey Incised is aMiddle Mississippian pottery type first identified at theCahokia Old Village site in southernIllinois. It has also been recovered at Carcajou Point inWisconsin, but its presence at Juntunen marks the northernmost occurrence of anyMiddle Mississippian pottery type. Tempering is shell-tempered mixed with grit and decoration is a distinctive pattern of curvilinear designs. The vessel shape is thought to be a bowl with sharply defined shoulder. It was recovered in intermediate strata between the Bois Blanc and Juntunen Phases.[4][13]
Oneota is anUpper Mississippian ware fromWisconsin and surrounding states. It is generally a shell-tempered ware but the specimens from Juntunen were almost all grit-tempered. 212 rim and body sherds representing at least 35 vessels were grit-tempered, while only 6 sherds representing 1 vessel were shell-tempered. The Juntunen specimens were characterized by flared rims, smooth surfaces, and scalloped, crimped or finger-pinched lips. One sherd was finger-trailed but otherwise all sherds were undecorated. No handles were observed. TheOneota at Juntunen is similar to theOneota component at the Mero site inWisconsin.[4][9]
The Juntunen Site provides a detailed record ofLate Woodland cultural development from approximately 800 A.D. through the 1400s A.D. Because of its centralized location relative to theGreat Lakes, and the importance of water travel in prehistoric times, it shows influences from all directions. The Mackinac and Bois Blanc Phases tend to show affinities withWisconsin cultures, while the Juntunen Phase tends to show influence fromOntario and theIroquois Tradition, the Blackduck pottery shows influence from the north and theMiddle Mississippian pottery shows influence from the south. Juntunen is also the northernmost site from whichmaize has been recovered.[4][5]
Juntunen also shows signs of what would later become cultural practices of early historic tribes. It is suggested that theossuary burials were a tradition that later grew into the elaborate ceremonies such as theHuronFeast of the Dead, afterEuropean contact and thefur trade had transformedNative American cultures in the region. The “medicine kit” recovered from one of the burials, and thebald eagle burial, anticipates the practices of religious groups in early historic tribes, such as theMidewiwin Society of theAlgonkian tribe, or theFalse Face Society of theIroquois. The practice of removing a plaque of thecranium of some burials, provides evidence of a prehistoricreligious practice that had apparently disappeared by historic times.[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. This would coincide with the spawning season of thesturgeon (late spring to early summer) and thewhitefish (in the fall). These are the two major categories of animal bone collected at the site.[4]
Thecopper industry at Juntunen is also unique in theLate Woodland period. The last timecopper had such a prominent role in artifact manufacture was in theArchaic Old Copper Culture (c. 3000 B.C.-1000 B.C.)[4][5]
| Middle Mississippian |
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| South Appalachian Mississippian |
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| Fort Walton culture | |||||||||||
| Pensacola culture | |||||||||||
| Plaquemine Mississippian | |||||||||||
| Caddoan Mississippian | |||||||||||
| Upper Mississippian cultures |
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| Culture |
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