The fifth Baron Abercromby (1841?1924), a soldier and keen archaeologist, published this two-volume work in 1898. His interest in the prehistory of Europe covers both physical remains (his two-volume 1912 work on British and Irish Beaker pottery is also reissued in this series) and ethnographic issues. Using the resources of archaeology, anthropology, linguistics and folklore, this work surveys the history of the Finno-Ugric peoples, the familiar 'Western Finns' (Finns and Estonians), and the less well known 'Eastern Finns', who include various tribes in northern Russia and Siberia. Volume 1 discusses the evidence of geography, archaeology and later history on the origin and movements of the tribes from the early Neolithic to the Iron Age, synthesising archaeological reports and travel narratives from across northern Europe and beyond. Abercromby describes the culture and beliefs of both groups, including discussion of the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala.

John Abercromby, a soldier and keen archaeologist, published this two-volume work in 1898. Using the resources of archaeology, anthropology, linguistics and folklore, this work surveys the history of the Finno-Ugric peoples, the familiar 'Western Finns', and the less well known 'Eastern Finns', who include tribes in northern Russia and Siberia.