ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors provide a review of the history of the domestic dog based on the literature on osteoarcheological finds, limiting the task to the geographical frame of Fennoscandia. Fennoscandia is a geographic term for an area comprising Finland and Scandinavia. The authors present some key geographical definitions and overview the chronology of Fennoscandian prehistory. In prehistory, dogs accompanied people inhabiting the land as it was freed from the last glaciation. Archeological evidence provides a picture of a close and special, but at the same time complex relationship between humans and dogs in prehistory. Dogs persist as an inseparable part of modern Nordic culture. Although many non-domestic dog breeds are now common, domestic Fennoscandian breeds remain popular and are used in their original roles as hunters and herders. In Finland, dog bones are common on sites that also have seal or squirrel bones, indicating that sealers and small-game hunters were likely to possess dogs.
