Abstract Archaean supracrustal complexes, known in the Fennoscandian (Baltic) Shield, are described and discussed by analysing the time sections 3.1–2.9, 2.9–2.75 and 2.75–2.65 Ga. Data on granitoid complexes, interrelated in time and space, and evidence for Archaean metamorphic events are classified and presented briefly. Fragments of ophiolitic and eclogitic associations have been found in Archaean rocks in the Shield. The first evidence of continental crust in the Shield is from Meso-Archaean time (3.5–3.1 Ga); isolated microcontinents, such as Vodlozero, Iisalmi and North Finland, have been identified. New continental crust was mainly generated in the 2.9–2.65 Ga interval. The geodynamic settings in which the continental crust was formed in the Meso-and Neoarchaean included subduction (ensialic and ensimatic), accretion and collisional mechanisms. The continental and oceanic crust were affected by mantle plumes.