Library Data:Ancients

The name assigned by scholars to a highly intelligent race which gained prominence 300,000 to 400,000 years ago. Most of what is known about the Ancients has been gleaned from archeological excavations of Ancient sites: the remains of cities, bases, outposts, and settlements of the Ancients. Scientific dating techniques have established that a "Final War" spanning a 2,000-year period destroyed virtually all of the Ancients at that time.

The influence of the Ancients is broadly felt in the universe. The vast majority of scholars now believe that the Ancients transported Humans from Terra to many worlds, where their descendants became the Vilani and the Zhodani, as well as the 47 known minor Human races. The Vargr have been shown (through genetic testing) to be descendants of genetically manipulated Terran canines (apparently, the canine stock was acquired at the same time as the Humans were taken from Terra). Ancient artifacts which have been discovered show a very high level of technology, and an equally high degree of sophistication; such artifacts often reveal previously uninvented or unexploited technologies.

The Ancient culture was wide-ranging. Confirmed sites have been found in every sector of the Imperium, over 200 in all; they are also present throughout Vargr and Aslan territory. What little information leaks out of the Zhodani Consulate on this topic suggests a high frequency of Ancient bases. It is almost certain that the Ancients explored and settled worlds beyond charted space, and that evidence of their travels is to be found beyond the borders of current states.

The Ancients’ population level is a matter of some debate. Some hold that the surprisingly frequent asteroid belts in charted space are the remains of high population Ancient worlds, shattered in the Final War; in this case, the total Ancient population may have been in the trillions. These theorists hold that the known Ancient sites are outposts, not worth destroying in so spectacular a manner. Others point out that no evidence to support this theory has been found in any asteroid belt surveyed to date; they believe that no more than 1 million or so Ancients lived on any one world, and that for some reason the Ancients only settled in specific regions on each planet. This hypothesis would give a total population of no more than 1 billion.

The Ancients were responsible for several major features within the region now occupied by the Imperium. Their warfare resulted in the large proportion of asteroid belts throughout explored space, and there is evidence they created the multi-world rosette at Tireen (Knaeleng 2910, in the Vargr Extents). Scattered, empty cities (most severely damaged by battle) stand as evidence of their wars; most, however, are restricted areas under investigation by the Imperium and not open to the public. One notable exception is the world known as Antiquity (Corridor 0816). The Antiquity Ancients site is open to tourists; its fascinating museum displays many wondrous and mystifying artifacts, many of which are still in working condition.

The Shionthy Asteroid Belt is believed to have been formed during one unusually intense battle between Ancient forces. Reports indicate that other Ancient sites within the Regina subsector are currently being excavated, both by official expeditions and clandestinely by treasure hunters.

The remaining debris from the Ancient civilization is scattered in ruined sites across parsecs of empty space. Individual pieces of this debris are commonly called artifacts; they come in all shapes and sizes. Most interstellar states have an extreme interest in Ancient artifacts, due to the potential value of their secrets. The Imperium has strict laws controlling traffic in Ancient artifacts; they cannot be legally sold unless registered with the Imperium. The registration fees are incidental (usually Cr20); the true purpose is to allow the authorities to examine each item.

Ancient sites within the Imperium are normally the responsibility of the Imperial Interstellar Scout Service. Scouts coordinate (and often conduct) the excavation and research of these sites under carefully controlled conditions. Major universities compete for the chance to assist, for most of what is known about the Ancients was learned by studying such sites.

To encourage the casual traveler who might stumble on an Ancient site to report it to the proper authorities, the Imperium pays a flat Cr50,000 finder’s fee to anyone who advises the IISS of a previously unknown Ancient site.

See also Humaniti, Solomani Hypothesis

This list of sources was used by the Traveller Wiki Editorial Team and individual contributors to compose this article. Copyrighted material is used under license from Mongoose Publishing or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.

Other References

• John Harshman, Marc Miller, Loren Wiseman. Library Data (A-M) (Game Designers Workshop, 1981), 12.
• Marc Miller. Secret of the Ancients (Game Designers Workshop, 1984), 13-15.
• J. Andrew Keith, Marc Miller, John Harshman. Droyne (Game Designers Workshop, 1985), 2,5-6,44-45.
• Marc Miller. Imperial Encyclopedia (Game Designers Workshop, 1987), 17.
• Clayton R. Bush. "Ancients" Alien Realms Volume 1, Issue 1 (1991): 1-13
• Dave Nilsen. The Regency Sourcebook (Game Designers Workshop, 1995), 76.
• Dave Nilsen, David L. Pulver, Andy Slack, David Thomas. Alien Races 3 (Steve Jackson Games, 2000), 106-120.
• Colin Dunn. Library Data (Mongoose Publishing, 2011), 4.
• Don McKinney. Zhodani (Mongoose Publishing, 2011), 29.
• Simon Beal. Vargr (Mongoose Publishing, 2009), 35,46.
• Martin Dougherty. Solomani Front (Mongoose Publishing, 2021), 108.
• Christopher Griffen. The Third Imperium (Mongoose Publishing, 2021), 59.