As the continental ice receded, people who practiced fishing, hunting, and gathering settled on the gradually expanding isthmus between the Baltic Sea and the White Sea.
Skis and sleighs made of wood, the preserved parts of which have been found at the bottom of lakes and swamps, testify to the craftsmanship of the population.
The Sámi people mostly made their utensils using traditional methods from stone, bone, wood, and leather. Most of the metal objects of the period were imported goods.
There were two Lapland villages in the Kuusamo area in the 16th century, when the Swedish crown started regularly taxing the Sámi. In the villages of Maanselkä and Kitka there were a total of twenty tax paying residences, with hardly more than 200 residents.