In the article, a multidisciplinary method for studying past religions is introduced and applied to indigenous
South Saami religion. The etymologies of the religious lexicon and the archaeological sacred
remains of the South Saami area are systematically examined and the results of the two disciplines
are correlated according to the theoretical model for the correlation of archaeological and lexical
data. Special attention is paid to studying how archaeological material reflects the phenomena seen in
the vocabulary. The lexical and archaeological data are collected from various dictionaries, historical
descriptions, etymological and archaeological research, and archaeological fieldwork reports.
Correlations between archaeological and lexical data are seen in the offering tradition, burial
traditions, and matters relating to death. The bear cult is highly visible in both materials, but the age
of the bear cult seems suspiciously young in the archaeological and lexical material. Sometimes, as
in connection with the shaman institution, lexical and archaeological materials do not reveal much
about the origin or dating of religious phenomena. Non-material concepts such as deity names are
not visible in archaeological data. A very tentative correlation is drawn between the faunal osteological
material at offering sites or scree graves and the saajve animal tradition. Such a correlation will,
however, need more research to be verified.