The first human settlement in Finland originated around 11,000 BC, following the end of the Ice Age. The initial inhabitants of modern-day Finland were presumably hunter-gatherers. There is no information about the language spoken by the first inhabitants. However, it is known that the Finnish and Sámi languages emerged thousands of years later. Archaeological, linguistic, and genetic studies support the notion that the country was inhabited from south to north, with a population of a few thousand during prehistoric times. The Sámi people then succeeded the previous inhabitants, followed by the influx of Finnic people from the east, west, and south who eventually replaced them. The Sámi people now number around 10,000 in Finland as a minority. Although they have lived north of the Arctic Circle for 7,000 years, they make up only 5% of the population of the province of Lapland.
The first human settlement in Finland .originated around 11,000 BC, following the end of the Ice Age. The initial inhabitants of modern-day Finland were presumably hunter-gatherers. There is no information about the language spoken by the firs,t inhabitants. However, it is known that the Finnish and Sámi languages emerged thousands of years later. Archaeological, linguistic, and genetic studies support the notion that the country was inhabited from south to north, with a population of a few thousand during prehistoric times. The Sámi people then succeeded the previous inhabitants, followed by the influx of Finnic people from the east west, and south who eventually replaced them The Sámi people now number around 10,000 in Finland as a minority. Although they have lived north of the Arctic Circle for 7,000 years, they make up only 5% of the population of the province of Lapland.