There is no consensus on when Uralic languages and Indo-European languages were first spoken in the area of contemporary Finland.

The Bronze Age (1500–500 BCE) and Iron Age (500 BCE–1200 CE) in Finland were characterized by extensive contacts with other cultures in the Fennoscandian and Baltic regions.

Contact between Sweden and what is now Finland was considerable even during pre-Christian times—the Vikings were known to Finns both due to their participation in commerce and plundering.

There is commonly accepted evidence of Viking settlement in the Finnish mainland.

The Åland Islands probably had Swedish settlement during the Viking Period.

However, some scholars claim that the archipelago was deserted during the eleventh century.

Christianity, according to the archaeological finds, during the eleventh century gains a foothold in Finland.