Editing History of Finland (section)

== Stone Age ==
[[File:Baltic History 7500-BC.svg|thumb|[[Ancylus Lake]] covered major part of Finland (7,500–6,000 BC)]]
[[File:Kiuruveden reikäkirves - Stone axe of Kiuruvesi.jpg|thumb|[[Stone Age]] stone axe engraved with human face found from [[Kiuruvesi]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.finna.fi/Record/musketti.M012:AKD32380:1#image |title=KM 11708 Kiuruveden kirves; Esinekuva |language=fi |access-date=31 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171231080821/https://www.finna.fi/Record/musketti.M012:AKD32380:1#image |archive-date=31 December 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>]]

===Paleolithic===

The [[Susiluola Cave]] near [[Kristinestad]] in [[Ostrobothnia (administrative region)|Ostrobothnia]] has been suggested as a possible [[Neanderthal]] settlement, potentially dating back 120,000 years to the [[Last Interglacial]]. If confirmed, it would represent the earliest known human settlement in [[Fennoscandia]]. However, the interpretation of the findings is disputed, and the claim remains controversial within the scientific community.<ref>[http://www.nba.fi/fi/susiluola Kristiinankaupungin Susiluola] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20060721002928/http://www.nba.fi:80/fi/susiluola (archived)])</ref><ref name="y807">{{cite journal |last=Nielsen |first=Trine Kellberg |last2=Riede |first2=Felix |date=2018 |title=On Research History and Neanderthal Occupation at its Northern Margins |journal=European Journal of Archaeology |volume=21 |issue=4 |pages=506–527 |doi=10.1017/eaa.2018.12 |issn=1461-9571}}</ref>

===Mesolithic===
[[File:AntreaNet.jpg|thumb|Pieces of the [[Antrea Net]] (8,300 BC), the oldest-known [[fishing net]] in the world.]]
The last ice age in the area of the modern-day Finland ended c. 9000 BC. Starting about that time, people migrated to the area of Finland from the south and southeast. Their culture represented a mixture of [[Kunda culture|Kunda]], [[Butovo culture|Butovo]], and {{ill|Veretje culture|fi|Veretjen kulttuuri|lt=Veretje cultures}}. At the same time, northern Finland was inhabited via the coast of Norway.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Muinaisuutemme jäljet|last=Georg Haggren, Petri Halinen, Mika Lavento, Sami Raninen ja Anna Wessman|publisher=Gaudeamus|year=2015|isbn=9789524953634|pages=25}}</ref> The oldest confirmed evidence of post-glacial human settlements in Finland is from the area of Ristola in [[Lahti]] and from [[Orimattila]], from c. 8900 BC. Finland has been continuously inhabited at least since the end of the last ice age up to the present.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.nba.fi/fi/skm_opetus_esihist_tietoa4 | title=Population Development on the Prehistoric Period ('Väestön kehitys esihistoriallisella ajalla') | publisher=Finnish National Board of Antiquities | access-date=29 April 2012 | archive-date=12 June 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612053715/http://www.nba.fi/fi/skm_opetus_esihist_tietoa4 | url-status=live }}</ref> The earliest post-glacial inhabitants of the present-day area of Finland were probably mainly seasonal [[hunter-gatherer]]s.  Among finds is the [[net of Antrea]], the oldest fishing net known ever to have been excavated (calibrated carbon dating: ca. 8300 BC).

===Neolithic===
By 5300 BC, pottery was present in Finland. The earliest samples belong to the [[Comb Ceramic culture]]s, known for their distinctive decorating patterns. This marks the beginning of the [[Neolithic]] period for Finland, although subsistence was still based on hunting and fishing. Extensive networks of exchange existed across Finland and northeastern Europe during the 5th millennium BC. For example, flint from [[Scandinavia]] and the [[Valdai Hills]], [[amber]] from Scandinavia and the [[Baltic region]], and [[slate]] from Scandinavia and [[Lake Onega]] found their way into Finnish archaeological sites, while [[asbestos]] and [[soap stone]] from Finland (e.g. the area of [[Saimaa]]) were found in other regions. Rock paintings—apparently related to [[shamanism|shamanistic]] and [[totemism|totemistic]] belief systems—have been found, especially in Eastern Finland, e.g. [[Astuvansalmi rock paintings|Astuvansalmi]].

[[File:Kastelli giant's church 1.JPG|thumb|[[Kastelli Giant's Church]] in {{ill|Pattijoki|fi|Pattijoki (taajama)}} by {{ill|Pöljä culture|fi|Pöljän keramiikka}}]]
Between 3500 and 2000 BC, monumental stone enclosures, colloquially known as [[Giant's Church]]es ({{langx|fi|Jätinkirkko}}), were constructed in the [[Ostrobothnia (historical province)|Ostrobothnia]] region.<ref name="poll">{{Cite book|last1=Pollard|first1=Tony|last2=Banks|first2=Iain|title=War and Sacrifice: Studies in the Archaeology of Conflict |year=2006|page=189|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-9047418924}}</ref> The purpose of the enclosures is unknown.<ref name="poll"/>

In recent years, a dig at the [[Kierikki]] site north of [[Oulu]] on the [[Iijoki|River Ii]] has changed the image of Finnish neolithic Stone Age culture. The site had been inhabited year-round and its inhabitants traded extensively. Kierikki culture is also seen as a subtype of [[Comb Ceramic culture]]. More of the site is excavated annually.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ouka.fi/en/oulu/luuppi-english/kierikki-stone-age-centre|title=Kierikki Stone Age Centre|date=27 April 2021|website=Oulun kaupunki – www.ouka.fi|access-date=23 June 2022|archive-date=23 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231023215333/https://www.ouka.fi/oulu/luuppi-english/kierikki-stone-age-centre|url-status=live}}</ref>

From 3200 BC onwards, either immigrants or a strong cultural influence from south of the [[Gulf of Finland]] settled in southwestern Finland. This culture was a part of the European [[Battle Axe culture]]s, which have often been associated with the movement of the [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]] speakers. The Battle Axe, or Cord Ceramic, culture seems to have practiced [[agriculture]] and [[animal husbandry]] outside of Finland, but the earliest confirmed traces of agriculture in Finland date later, approximately to the 2nd millennium BC. Further inland, societies retained their hunting-gathering lifestyles for the time being.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Hunting and Gathering in a Farmers' World|url=https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199551224.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199551224-e-013|last=Cummings|first=Vicki|editor3-first=Marek|editor3-last=Zvelebil|editor2-first=Peter|editor2-last=Jordan|editor1-first=Vicki|editor1-last=Cummings|date=1 April 2014|website=The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology and Anthropology of Hunter-Gatherers|language=en|doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199551224.001.0001|isbn=9780199551224|access-date=15 May 2020|archive-date=1 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201001017/https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199551224.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199551224-e-013|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Battle Axe and Comb Ceramic cultures eventually merged, giving rise to the [[Kiukainen culture]] that existed between 2300 BC and 1500 BC, and was fundamentally a comb ceramic tradition with cord ceramic characteristics.