The oldest known settlements in Finnmark are over 10,000 years old. This means that the first human beings came here as soon as the ice had receded from the land areas at the end of the last ice age.
Although we don't know for sure who the first people to settle along the coast of Finnmark were, there is no doubt that their economy was based on hunting, trapping and fishing. The first inhabitants probably came from the east, but later on new groups may have come from the east, south and west - from the land areas that today are Russia, Finland, Sweden and Norway. Newcomers have probably "fused with" the descendants of the first migrants, becoming in historical time what has been documented as Sami (lapp) peoples.
The settlements of the first inhabitants along the coast of Finnmark left few permanent traces. One of the reasons for this is that the people in all likelihood migrated between several settlements over the course of the year. Another reason is that they probably lived in nonpermanent forms of housing-most likely tents. In addition, the number of settlements during this phase were few and the population small.
The most common location of settlements from the earliest period was on a promontory or preferably an isthmus between two bays. Such places afforded a good view of the land and sea and made it easy to get to sealing, whaling and fishing grounds. If roughs seas made landing difficult for the boats on one side of the settlement, the bay on the other side could be used.
Most of the settlements are recognised today because of stone tools and chipping materials
spread over the ground. Many of the settlements have no other visible structures, but in
some ofthe sites stone patterns have been found which could be traces of tents (tent rings). We
therefore assume that the first inhabitants along the coast of the Arctic Ocean lived in
tents whose canvas was probably made of reindeer and/ or sealskin. Gradually, it became
more common to live in more permanent housing most likely a form of turf hut.