Editing Kautokeino Municipality (section)

=== The Stone Age ===
In Kautokeino there are traces of human activity stretching back 7,000&ndash;9,000 years. The people entering the Kautokeino area when the ice retreated has belonged to one of the three main genetic groups in the postglacial period of early Europe; [[Eastern Hunter-Gatherer]]s, [[Western Hunter-Gatherer]]s or the [[Scandinavian Hunter-Gatherers]]. At Kautokeino church, arrowheads have been found where the dating extends over a large period of time. The oldest arrowheads date to 5000&ndash;7000 BC, while the youngest date to 1000&ndash;000 BC.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Blom |first=Jon Gunnar |date=2021 |title=Gáidnomanjávri Sikringsundersøkelse av aktivitetsområder fra steinalder ved Kautokeino kirkested |url=https://uit.no/Content/753787/cache%3D20222601171738/UMAK_2020_G%C3%A1idnomanj%C3%A1vri%20Rapport.pdf |url-status=live |journal=Tromsø Museums Rapportserie |language=no |volume=62 |issue=University in Tromsø |pages=18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220826181757/https://uit.no/Content/753787/cache=20222601171738/UMAK_2020_G%C3%A1idnomanj%C3%A1vri%20Rapport.pdf |archive-date=26 August 2022 |access-date=29 August 2022}}</ref> In 2020, the [[University of Tromsø]] conducted archaeological excavations at Gáidnomanjávri I Kautokeino, approximately 300 meters northeast of the church. There, among other things, burnt bone remains were found, the oldest of which were dated to 4846-5009 BC.<ref name=":0" />

In Juntevađđa, about 10 kilometers north of Kautokeino, archaeological excavations were carried out in 2018. The results from the samples show that there has been human activity in the area which has been dated back to 5560&ndash;5520 BC, [[mesolithic]] period. Among other things, bone remains of [[reindeer]] were identified.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Niemi |first=Anja Roth |last2=Oppvang |first2=Janne |title=Juntavadda Undersøkelse av sein-mesolittiske aktivitetsområder i Kautokeino k./Guovdageaidnu s. |url=https://uit.no/Content/652423/cache=20193110121841/Rapport%20Juntavadda%202019_liten.pdf |url-status=live |journal=Tromura 2019 |language=no |volume=54 |issue=TROMSØ MUSEUMS RAPPORTSERIE NR. 54 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220825193626/https://uit.no/Content/652423/cache=20193110121841/Rapport%20Juntavadda%202019_liten.pdf |archive-date=25 August 2022 |access-date=28 August 2022 |via=uit.no}}</ref>