Hunting history
Text from www.samer.se:
The Sami have not always been a reindeer herding people. Although the reindeer has long been the most important animal for the Sami, only a small proportion of the population, both historically and today, have based their lives on the reindeer. The vast majority survived by hunting and fishing. The sea coasts, the lakes and the rivers gave the most reliable hauls.
Sápmi was populated soon after the inland ice had melted. Northern Scandinavia was inhabited as long as 9,000 years ago. Small groups of hunter-gatherers colonised the land from different directions. The one thing they had in common was that they settled where there was wildlife. When the game or fish failed, they moved on. These were the people who much later became Sámi. Hunting for animals such as reindeer and elk required both considerable knowledge and organisation of the hunt.
There are descriptions dating from the late Middle Ages of how the coastal Sami in Norway lived. In the winter they lived right out by the mouths of the fjords, mainly spending their time fishing. In the summer they lived at the head of the fjord. There they could both fish and hunt. They were close both to the forest and the mountains.
Published 749 days ago by dan.jonasson
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