Editing Ancestors

{{Status|Canon}}
{{disambig header|the original ancient humans with advanced civilization|the ancient humans regressed to hunter-gatherers|Erde-Tyrene civilization}}
{{Pageimage|HTMCC-H4 Terminals Ancestor 1.png}}
{{Affiliation infobox
|image=[[File:HM-AncientHumans.png|300px]]{{clear}}Ancient humans Yprin and Forthencho.<ref>[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/forums/db05ce78845f4120b062c50816008e5d/topics/nitpick-about-mythos-and-ancient-humans/973f5cb0-bbde-49a9-8ab9-5e7590bce6fc/posts?page=2#post24 '''Halo Waypoint''' '':Confirmation of Yprin in Mythos'']</ref>
|section1-title=Empire overview
|type=Interstellar empire
|founder=
|main=[[Charum Hakkor]]
|anthem=
|techlevel=Tier 1
|formed=c. [[150,000 BCE]]
|dissolved=[[106,445 BCE]]
|affiliation=
}}
{{Quote|Once, we were one great race, united in power and concerted in our goals...|[[Forthencho]]<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 99''</ref>}}
The '''Ancestors''',{{Ref/Book|Enc22|Page=10-11}}{{Ref/Site|URL=https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/the-new-halo-encyclopedia-is-out-today|Site=Halo Waypoint|Page=The New Halo Encyclopedia is Out Today|D=11|M=03|Y=2023}} scientifically designated '''''archeohomina''''',<ref name=wf>''[[Halo: Warfleet]]'', ''page 14''</ref> and commonly referred to as '''ancient humanity''',<ref name="wp hum">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/species/humans '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Humans'']</ref><ref>[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/canon-fodder-sustained-glass '''Canon Fodder''': ''Sustained Glass'']</ref> were a prehistoric, technologically advanced civilization of the [[human]] species that rose to preeminence in the [[Milky Way|Milky Way galaxy]] by approximately [[150,000 BCE]]. Having first achieved interstellar travel over a million years earlier and colonized planets across the [[Orion Arm]] toward the galactic border, humans became a major political and military power rivaling the [[Forerunner]]s; indeed, the [[Ur-Didact|Didact]] considered them the second greatest military power and the latest challenge to Forerunner influence. Over a hundred thousand years later, the [[Librarian]] would tell [[John-117]] that they were the greatest threat ever faced by the Forerunners.{{Ref/Reuse|reclaimer}} Members of the most predominant human species of this era were on average larger, stronger, and significantly more intelligent than modern humans.{{Ref/Reuse|wp hum}} This civilization [[Human-San'Shyuum alliance|allied]] with the contemporary [[San'Shyuum]] and later [[Human-Forerunner war|waged war]] against the [[Flood]], only to come into conflict with the Forerunners; they ultimately suffered a disastrous defeat against the Forerunners and were subsequently regressed into hunter-gatherers, [[Erde-Tyrene civilization|confined to their ancient homeworld]].

==History==
===Origin and rise===
[[File:Enc22 AncestorCity.png|thumb|250px|An Ancestor city.]][[File:HM-CharumHakkor.png|thumb|300px|left|A city on Charum Hakkor, the capital of the Ancestor empire.]]
Having presumably evolved and achieved civilization on [[Earth]], originally known as "Erda" or "Erde-Tyrene",<ref name="prim237">'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 237-238''</ref> humanity first became a spacefaring civilization at some point prior to [[1,100,000 BCE]]. These early humans settled on numerous worlds along the galactic margin; these regions would be targeted by the [[Flood]]'s initial assault over a million years later.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''pages 67-68''</ref> Early in their history, long before encountering the [[Forerunner]]s, humanity underwent a series of technological dark ages, which left their populations scattered across many worlds and resulted in the loss of most of their records, including the knowledge of Earth being their potential original homeworld. It was not until much later when scientists led by [[Yprin Yprikushma]] traced humanity's potential origin to Earth.{{Ref/Reuse|prim237}} Around [[150,000 BCE]] humanity moved their civilization outward along the [[Orion Arm]], possibly to flee Forerunner control.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 20''</ref> They first settled in and built up population centers in two star systems dozens of lightyears away from Sol before stringing outposts together across nearly thirty thousand lightyears toward the galactic margin of the galaxy.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 42''</ref>

After recovering from their dark ages, humanity made the former [[Precursor]] world [[Charum Hakkor]] their capital, to be close to one of the greatest collections of Precursor structures.<ref name="c112">'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 112''</ref> Humanity also formed [[Human-San'Shyuum alliance|an alliance]] with the [[San'Shyuum]] species in order to gain access to their advanced technology.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 113''</ref> At their height, humanity's technological advancement nearly rivaled that of the Forerunners.<ref name="c164">'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 164''</ref>

===War===
{{Main|Human-Forerunner wars}}
[[File:H4-Terminal-CharumHakkor-Battle.jpg|thumb|250px|Human and Forerunner forces battle on [[Charum Hakkor]].]]
This civilization encountered the [[Flood]] by [[108,764 BCE]] at the latest and went to war against the parasite after discovering its true nature. After losing many planets to the Flood, humanity desperately invaded a minor sector of the Forerunners' [[ecumene]], ostensibly in an attempt to seize new territory to replace the worlds they had lost, though at least some instances of this seeming aggression were in fact humanity sterilizing worlds where Flood infestation had already taken hold. Nevertheless, the Forerunners responded violently to this aggression and [[Human-Forerunner wars|waged war]] with the humans and their San'Shyuum allies. The resulting conflicts lasted for a thousand years.<ref name="reclaimer">'''[[Halo 4]]''', campaign level ''[[Reclaimer (level)|Reclaimer]]''</ref>

In 107,564 BCE, forty years before the last conflict between humanity and the Forerunners, a human expeditionary group encountered an ancient being held in hibernation on a planet near the galaxy's edges. Under [[Yprin Yprikushma]]'s orders, this being, known as the [[Primordial]], was placed in a [[stasis capsule]] and transported to [[Charum Hakkor]] for study.{{Ref/Reuse|prim237}} Human researchers found a way to communicate with the entity, asking in vain for answers to various scientific or moral questions, receiving no useful responses.<ref name="c271">'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 271''</ref> Instead, the being revealed disconcerting truths about humanity's origins; this was believed by some to have caused the demoralization of human culture and thus contributed to their defeat against the Forerunners.{{Ref/Reuse|prim237}} They also inquired the Primordial about the Flood; the answers they received were so traumatizing that many committed suicide.{{Ref/Reuse|c271}}

After a certain point, the Flood's rampage throughout human territory stopped. The Flood no longer infected humans and instead began to rapidly die out, with both humans and Forerunners sterilizing the remaining infestations.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''pages 36-37''</ref> Based on this pattern, the Forerunners concluded that humanity had discovered a cure for the Flood: according to Forerunner records, the humans sacrificed a third of their total population, implanting them with destructive, artificially programmed genes used to target the Flood on a genetic level. In reality, however, the Flood had receded by its own volition after the sacrifice; no truly functioning cure was ever created or used by humanity,<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 367''</ref> though both Forerunners and humans themselves remained under such illusion.<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 53''</ref>

Stretched thin due to fighting two wars at once, the humans were finally driven to their capital of Charum Hakkor. After [[Battle of Charum Hakkor|holding off for fifty-three years]] they were defeated at the hands of the Forerunners, led by the [[Ur-Didact|Didact]].<ref name="c267">'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''pages 267-272''</ref> Before the fall of Charum Hakkor some humans suggested they should draw out the Flood and use it against the Forerunners. However, this strategy was denied, as the human leadership chose to face defeat rather than allow the Flood to spread.<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 190''</ref>

===Downfall===
[[File:H4 - Charum Hakkor.jpg|250px|thumb|left|Human ships burn in Charum Hakkor's orbit.]]
As punishment for defying the Forerunners, nearly all of humanity was wiped out and the remnants and technological achievements of their civilization were extirpated. Furthermore, the surviving humans were subjected to a process of biological devolution;<ref name="c127">'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 127''</ref><ref name="c25">'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 25''</ref> live humans were forced to consciously experience an artificially induced reversion of their evolutionary process, to the point of their bodies transforming to their ancestral forms and eventually losing intelligence.<ref name="s42">'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 42''</ref> The remnants of the human species were exiled to Earth, where they were overseen by the [[Librarian]]; while many Forerunners wanted to see humanity exterminated, the Librarian had always been considered their greatest protector.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 77''</ref> In only a thousand years, humanity recovered many of their prior forms, along with many new ones, due to the assistance of the Librarian and her ''[[geas]]'', as well as unknown factors not even the Librarian and her [[Lifeworker]]s could explain.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''pages 45-47''</ref> Over twenty human species made recovery and formed separate populations on Earth,{{Ref/Reuse|c127}} including the [[Human|ha''manush'']], [[Neanderthal|k'ta''manush'']], [[B'ashamanune|b'asha''manush'']], and [[Florian|cha''manush'']].{{Ref/Reuse|c25}} This meddling was noted to have considerably distorted Earth's natural fossil records.{{Ref/Reuse|c127}}

The Forerunner victory proved disastrous for the galaxy, as the humans destroyed all their research data and physical evidence concerning the Flood, including their supposed cure. [[Bornstellar Makes Eternal Lasting]] speculated it may have been humanity's last act of revenge to leave the Forerunners unprepared to face the incoming threat that led to the firing of the [[Halo Array]].{{Ref/Reuse|c267}} The last human survivors on Charum Hakkor were subjected to thorough analysis and experimentation to discover their supposed Flood immunity; eventually, their patterns were extracted by [[Composer]]s and archived in machine storage, where the human essences would be incessantly scoured for a cure for thousands of years.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 43''</ref>

The Librarian and Didact later learned that humanity had never developed a cure or a way to fend off the Flood. As the remnant of the [[Precursor]]s, the Flood sought to punish the Forerunners for destroying them and ensure that humanity obtained the [[Mantle]]. When the Forerunners retaliated against the humans for invading Forerunner worlds, the Flood predicted that the Forerunners would try to exterminate humanity. Of its own volition, the Flood abruptly receded from human territory, knowing that the humans would temporarily rebound and thus unknowingly deceive the Forerunners into thinking they may have developed a cure. This caused the Forerunners to restrain themselves from eradicating humanity and preserve a regressed remnant population since they needed living humans to study if their apparent Flood cure was to be found.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 259-261''</ref>
{{Clear}}

===Partial recovery===
{{Main|Erde-Tyrene civilization}}
[[File:ObservingArtifact.png|thumb|250px|After their once highly advanced civilization had been shattered by the Forerunners, most humans lived within [[Wikipedia:Hunter-gatherer|hunter-gatherer]] communities. The humans seen here are observing [[Excession|the portal]] to the Ark.]]
Forced to start again, the collective human genus tried in vain to reattain their former glory. Some human communities, such as the civilization built around Erde-Tyrene's largest city, [[Marontik]], established wooden cities and steam-powered waterborne vessels nearly nine thousand years later.{{Ref/Reuse|c25}}<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 86''</ref> Most humans, however, lived in [[Technological Achievement Tiers|Tier 7]] tribal communities, such as the one that was encountered by the Forerunners during the construction of [[Excession|the portal]] to [[Installation 00|the Ark]] in eastern [[Africa]].<ref>'''[[Halo 3: The Cradle of Life]]'''</ref>

After the activation of the [[Halo Array]], the human civilization regressed once again, and would remain Tier 7 hunter-gatherers for nearly a hundred millennia.

===Rediscovery===
For much of humanity's history before the mid-26th century, virtually all artifacts and records of their former civilization had been lost to time. However, in the mid-2550s, after the [[Human-Covenant War]] had ended, small but significant discoveries began to trickle in about humanity's powerful past. On [[Heian]], ruins were found resembling a wide variety of human styles, including Greco-Roman, Middle Eastern, and East Asian, with subtle Forerunner themes. The [[Department of Xenoarchaeological Studies]] at the [[University of Edinburgh]] found the obvious elements of human architecture in the structures puzzling, wondering if their builders borrowed from human architecture or the other way around.{{Ref/Anthology|Evo|Story=From the Office of Dr. William Arthur Iqbal}} The [[Office of Naval Intelligence]] discovered one derelict ancient human vessel at [[Site Yankee-002-G3]]. The [[Xeno-Materials Exploitation Group]] examined the artifact in [[ONI XENO-MATERIALS EXPLOITATION REPORT 15Y1198]] and assessed its tactical capabilities. Their report recommended that further analysis of the ship should be immediately assigned to [[Project ARC DREAM]] and noted that an investigation of its weaponry was already underway by a team on [[AZURE MOON]].<ref name=wf/>

Records of prehistoric humanity began to be encountered as well. On [[Onyx]], an artifact referred to as the [[Halo: Cryptum|Bornstellar Relation]] gave a testimony of the life of the Forerunner [[Bornstellar Makes Eternal Lasting]], including the knowledge that humanity had once been a Tier 1 species.<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 230''</ref> This account was complemented by the testimony of the remains of [[343 Guilty Spark]], who related to listening scientists about his life as the prehistoric human [[Chakas]].<ref name="EH">'''[[Eleventh Hour reports]]''', ''part 4''</ref><ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''pages 376-379''</ref>

In [[2557#July|July 2557]], the [[SPARTAN-II program|Spartan-II]] [[John-117]] encountered an archived personality of the Forerunner known as the [[Librarian]] on [[Requiem]]. She revealed the times of the ancient [[human-Forerunner wars]] to the Spartan, as well as the origins of the mechanical [[Promethean]]s, ancient humans who had been the first "conscripts" into the [[Ur-Didact|Didact]]'s army during the last years of the Forerunner's [[Forerunner-Flood war|war]] against the Flood. The Librarian further revealed that she had been [[geas|guiding humanity since their devolution]], notably instigating the physical evolution of the select few humans who met the SPARTAN-II program's genetic requirements, as well as the creation of [[MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor|powered armor]] and even [[Smart AI|AI]]s like [[Cortana]], in an attempt to prepare humanity from an unknown threat. The Librarian would call John "the culmination of a thousand lifetimes of planning" though she never got to tell him for what. During this conversation, the Librarian would call ancient humanity the greatest threat ever faced by the Forerunners. As a result, the recently revived Didact sought to finish their destruction with the [[Composer]]. John would later share this information with the bridge crew of the {{UNSCShip|Infinity}}.{{Ref/Reuse|reclaimer}} The Didact later acknowledged that while John wasn't as advanced as humanity's ancient ancestors, he was not so unlike the Lord of Admirals or the other exceptionally gifted humans that the Didact had fought, becoming the first human to ever give the Didact a direct wound when the Spartan had stabbed the Promethean in the eye.{{Ref/Novel|Id=Epi20|Epi|Chapter=20}}

At some point, the UNSC would discover some ancient human ruins with knowledge on a dead world, and a shattered starship with a vault full of unknown materials; using technology gathered from both discoveries, the UNSC would create the [[HELLCAT-class Mjolnir]].<ref>''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'', ''Hellcat armor description''</ref>

In late [[2558]], 343 Guilty Spark discovered that the Librarian's work on [[Bastion]] - which resembled a copy of [[Earth]], the homeworld of humanity - included studies and experimentation on ancient humanity.{{Ref/Novel|PoL|Chapter=Epilogue}}

Despite the regression of humanity following the [[Human-Forerunner wars]], the human race continued to carry a fragment of the Ancestors' spark in their ''[[geas]]'', a connection to a time long past, waiting to be awakened. This resulted in a "dreamer" having a series of visions while conducting research upon [[Site Yankee-002-G3|an]] [[Ancient human cruiser]].{{Ref/Novel|Halo: Tulpamancy}}

===The Domain===
After being composed, [[Forthencho]] and the Ancestors were sent to the outer boundaries of the [[Domain]]. It took the Ancestors tens of thousands of years to adjust, and finally heal their souls, to remember their past and reform themselves into a complete presence within a rift in the Domain's outer boundaries where the [[Warden Eternal]] kept them out of the Domain itself. According to Forthencho, this was because being composed had kept the Ancestors from any sort of a human afterlife and instead sent them to the Forerunner one.{{Ref/Reuse|Epi22}}

While in the outer boundaries of the Domain, the [[Ur-Didact|Didact]] met the composed essences of Forthencho and millions of other Ancestors. After the Didact mentioned the current human race to the Ancestors, they were greatly relieved, revealing that they had not known whether or not their kind had survived. The Didact told the Ancestors everything that he knew about human history, from the firing of the [[Halo Array]] to the state of humanity as the Didact found it when he had awakened on [[Requiem]]. That humanity had miraculously survived thanks to the [[Librarian]]'s planning and was once again colonizing the stars caused a wide spectrum of emotion: grief for the enormity of their own loses, and pride for the dogged nature of humanity and the achievements made in their absence. After hearing the story and of the danger of [[Cortana]] and the [[Created]], Forthencho and his warriors agreed to ally with the Didact and the other [[Forerunner]] essences to free the Domain from Cortana's control.{{Ref/Novel|Id=Epi22|Epi|22}} The Ancestors and the Forerunners later attacked the Warden Eternal as a distraction, giving the Didact the chance to destroy the construct.{{Ref/Novel|Id=Epi25|Epi|25}}

Following the destruction of the Warden Eternal, the Didact invited the human essences to join the Forerunners in the halls of the Domain.{{Ref/Novel|Id=Epi26|Epi|26}}{{Ref/Novel|Id=Epi27|Epi|27}} Forthencho would later use [[neural transmission]] to observe [[Battle of Boundary|a significant battle]] involving modern humans before returning to the Domain.{{Ref/Novel|Id=Adjunct|ET|Chapter=Adjunct}}

==Physiology==
[[File:HTMCC-H4 Terminals Ancestor 1.png|thumb|250px|This prehistoric human possessed a facial composition identical to that of a modern human.]]
While ancient humans exhibited a range of morphological variation,<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 129''</ref> the ethnic group represented by [[Forthencho]] and his [[bridge]] crew were remarkably similar in appearance to modern ''Homo sapiens''. They possessed straight to wavy hair textures, thin to full lips, and an overall largely similar facial composition to their modern counterparts. <ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 236''</ref> Like modern humans, ancient humans had a range of different body types; for example, Forthencho was tall and muscular while [[Yprin Yprikushma]] had a short and stocky build.<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 307''</ref> After meeting [[Chakas]], a ''Homo sapiens'', the [[Ur-Didact|Didact]] was displeased and noted that he was too much like the humans who had murdered his children and nearly destroyed his fleets while he was more pleased with the appearance of [[Riser]], a [[Florian]] and a different type of human.<ref>'''[[Halo: Cryptum]]''', ''page 82''</ref>

Despite the technological and biological achievements of their descendants, prehistoric humans naturally possessed more body mass and strength{{Ref/Reuse|s42}} and were on average significantly more intelligent than modern humans.{{Ref/Reuse|wp hum}} The Librarian said that, if not for their encounter with the Flood, prehistoric humanity's gene-plan could have surpassed that of even the Forerunners.<ref>'''Halo 4''', ''[[Terminal (Halo 4)|Terminal 3]]''</ref> After fighting against the Didact for fifty-three years, in the endgame of the human-Forerunner wars, Forthencho had acquired noticeable facial wrinkles. However, he still retained the body mass he possessed in his youth. Given the length of Forthencho's career (at least a thousand years) it can be concluded that ancient humans had much longer lifespans (a [[Bestarium|record]] made by [[343 Guilty Spark]] on Reclaimers and specifically [[John-117]] indicated that one of the physiological ailments he possesses is modern humanity's "highly truncated lifespan") than their modern descendants (whether naturally, due to advanced medical science, or a combination of the two), although their lifespans still paled in comparison to those of the Forerunners.<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 234''</ref>

The Ancestors, at least those existing as essences in the [[Domain]], were capable of using the Forerunner [[neural transmission]] technique.{{Ref/Reuse|Adjunct}}
{{Clear}}

==Culture==
Little is known about human culture of this time. According to the [[Ur-Didact]], humanity believed themselves to be the true inheritors of the [[Mantle|Mantle of Responsibility]], a notion the Forerunners considered heretical.{{Ref/Reuse|c112}} Ironically, the Precursors had intended for humans to inherit the Mantle instead of the Forerunners.<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 364''</ref> Regardless of the pressure on their growing populations and the Flood, humans were also said to be particularly cruel toward other species. [[Chakas]], examining the harvested memories of his ancestors imprinted to him as part of a ''[[geas]]'', discovered that they believed in "creating many souls", or expanding their population by conquering and claiming other worlds.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 130''</ref> 

The humans of this time were willing to forge relations and alliances with other sapient species as evidenced by their alliance with the San'Shyuum, who shared their disdain for the Forerunners. This bond deepened over time, with the two species co-inhabiting worlds and creating political and cultural centers along the galactic periphery.{{Ref/Book|Id=Enc22P26|Enc22|Page=26}}

In contrast to the Forerunners, their attentions were drawn to the interleaving of dimensions and weaving of exotic force rather than applications of macro-engineering. They were considered the undisputed masters of scientific synthesis, collaborating with their kind and other sapient species to exploit unique languages, outlooks, and intuitions into a greater whole and more complete understanding of universal principles, a tradition that would endure the long passage of time.{{Ref/Book|Id=Enc22P27|Enc22|Page=27}} 

After centuries of constant warfare against the Forerunners and the Flood, human society had become exceedingly militarized; military officials wielded significant decision-making power, some military offices (namely that of the Political and Morale Commander) doubling as political leadership. During the siege of Charum Hakkor, even human children were organized into their defensive guards.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 41''</ref>

Officers of the ancient human fleets sported various kinds of white facial markings and typically had long hair. Warship crew members wore unadorned, form-fitting suits of body armor, apparently lacking any markings or other features denoting rank,<ref name="h4terminals">'''Halo 4''', ''[[Terminal (Halo 4)|Terminals]]''</ref> although more elaborate uniforms existed, possibly for ceremonial occasions.<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 302''</ref>

At least some ancient humans practiced a polytheistic religion, including the [[Forthencho|Lord of Admirals]].<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 320''</ref> The [[Ur-Didact|Didact]] noted that humans had a tendency to worship inanimate objects, including [[Precursor]] artifacts.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 228''</ref> In addition, the humans believed in the teaching of [[Daowa-maad|Daowa-maadthu]], a concept at the center of their beliefs and practices, a reference to the cyclical pattern of trial and growth witnessed over time and often referred to as the roll and tug of the universe on the individual and those within it.{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22P26}} This system was exemplified for the ancient humans when a strange powder was discovered aboard mysterious derelict starships that would lead to the devastating civilization-spanning outbreak known as the Flood.<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 56''</ref>{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22P26}} Ancient humans believed in at least one kind of afterlife as Forthencho complained that being composed had resulted in the Ancestors being sent to [[Domain|the Forerunner afterlife]] rather than any sort of a human afterlife.{{Ref/Reuse|Epi22}}

The humans, along with their [[San'Shyuum]] allies, favored the domesticated [[Pheru]], originating from the planet [[Faun Hakkor]], as pets. The Pheru would also be the first vectors for the Flood.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 131''</ref>

==Technology==
[[File:HTMCC-H4 Terminals ForthenchosFleet.png|thumb|250px|A prehistoric human space fleet preparing to sterilize a Forerunner planet during the initial Flood conflict.]]
In the decades before the dismantling of their civilization, humans were technological equals of the Forerunners in many areas, likely placing them on Tier 1 on the Forerunner [[Technological Achievement Tiers|technological achievement scale]]. This was largely thanks to the efforts of Yprin Yprikushma, who encouraged humanity to study Forerunner technologies encountered in earlier conflicts with Forerunners.{{Ref/Reuse|prim237}} Despite this, the Forerunners' technological achievements still overshadowed those of humanity in many fields, including [[Astroengineering|megascale engineering]] and [[slipspace]] technology. For example, the humans were seemingly unable to construct megastructures on the scale of a [[Halo Array|Halo installation]],<ref name="p257">'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 257''</ref> and their understanding of space-time reconciliation was inferior to that of the Forerunners, who were able to use their superior understanding of slipspace to an advantage by clogging the humans' slipspace channels and slowing their interstellar travel.<ref name="prim240">'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 240''</ref>

Humans of this time used [[artificial intelligence]] constructs known as [[servitor]]s.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 34''</ref> These robotic intelligences assisted human scientists in reverse-engineering Forerunner technologies during the Forerunner wars, nearly bridging the technological gap between the two civilizations.{{Ref/Reuse|prim237}} On Charum Hakkor, the humans built vast constructs supported by the Precursor structures; cities stretching to orbit along [[orbital arch]]es, described by [[Bornstellar Makes Eternal Lasting]] as resembling ivy growing on great trees. In addition, they built energy towers and defense platforms operating at [[geosynchronous orbit]] and equigravitation,<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 164''</ref> linked by virtually unbreakable Precursor [[Star road|filaments]].<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 118''</ref> Many human worlds were encompassed by vast railway networks, a technological achievement Forthencho took pride in.{{Ref/Reuse|p257}}

Human and Forerunner infantry shared many similar military technologies, including advanced battle armor and [[directed energy weapon]]s such as various particle rifles. The Didact indicated that at one point humanity (with the help of the San'Shyuum) had developed offensive military technologies that the Didact's warriors had no effective defense against, which enabled them to compensate against the overwhelming numbers of the Forerunner military.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 112''</ref> Human [[warship]]s could emit high-intensity energy streams capable of destroying [[Forerunner fleet|Forerunner ships]] and sterilizing entire Flood-infected worlds.{{Ref/Reuse|h4terminals}} Examples of ancient human warship types include the [[prime cruiser]]s and [[tuned platform]]s.<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 156''</ref> Ancient human warships were equipped with a weapons system known as a [[Fibril cutter]], alongside weapons superficially similar to particle-beam weapons.{{Ref/Reuse|wf}}

Humans of this era had an understanding of Precursor technology which was sufficient enough to enable them to create a device that could selectively and temporarily open access to a Precursor stasis capsule from outside allowing communication between those outside and the Primordial imprisoned inside it. The device was smooth, oval shaped with three notches in its side.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 112''</ref>

==Sphere of influence==
{{Main|Human colonies}}
Humanity's empire encompassed at least twenty thousand worlds in a thousand star systems across thirty thousand light years<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 129''</ref> of the [[Milky Way Galaxy]].;<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 129''</ref> This is likely after they lost a third of their colonies to the Flood as the Flood had ravaged humanity's colonies for over one thousand years prior to the discovery of the Primordial and the Flood only retreated from the Milky Way Galaxy during the 40 years between the Primordial being discovered by humanity and the final 53-year conflict of the human-Forerunner wars.

*[[Sol system]]
**[[Earth]]
*[[Charum Hakkor system]]
**[[Charum Hakkor]]
**[[Ben Nauk]]
**[[Faun Hakkor]]
**[[Sothra Hakkor]]
*[[Wolf-faced planet]]

==Notable individuals==
*[[Forthencho]] - Lord of Admirals, head of the human Admiralty.{{Ref/Reuse|prim240}} Commanded the last human fleets against the Didact's forces at Charum Hakkor.
*[[Gamelpar's old spirit]] - A human warrior who was Composed and later awakened in the ''[[geas]]'' of [[Gamelpar]] of the [[Tudejsa]].
*[[Yprin Yprikushma]] - Political and Morale Commander and prominent scientist. She contributed significantly to the technological breakthroughs that allowed humanity to hold off against Forerunners.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:HTMCC-H4 Terminals AncestorShipBridge.png|The bridge of a human ship in orbit over a Forerunner world in ''[[Halo 4]]'''s [[Terminal (Halo 4)|terminals]].
File:H4-Terminal-PreHuman-Death.jpg|A human warrior falls in battle.
File:H4-Concept-PreHuman-Armor.jpg|Designs of an ancient human battle armor suit.
File:H4-Terminal-Human-ShipDesigns.jpg|Designs of ancient human battleships (top half), and forerunner battleships (bottom half).
File:HTMCC-H4 Terminals Forthencho&Hologram.png|Forthencho, Lord of Admirals, examines a hologram of an infested Forerunner world.
File:HTMCC-H4 Terminals Ancestor 2.png|A bridge officer serving aboard Forthencho's ship.
File:HTMCC-H4 Terminals Ancestor 3.png|Another bridge officer surrounded by displays.
File:H4 - Forthencho surrenders.jpg|thumb|[[Forthencho|Lord of Admirals Forthencho]], commander of the prehistoric human military, accompanied by human soldiers.
File:HM-AncientHumanships.png|Ancient human ships above Charum Hakkor in ''[[Halo Mythos]]''.
File:Ancient Human cruiser.jpg|An ancient human cruiser found by the Office of Naval Intelligence at [[Site Yankee-002-G3]].
</gallery>

==List of appearances==
*''[[Halo: Cryptum]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary]]''
**''[[Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|Terminals]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Primordium]]''
*''[[Halo 4]]''
**''[[Terminal (Halo 4)|Terminals]]''
*''[[Halo: Silentium]]''
*''[[Halo 2: Anniversary]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'' {{Im}}
*''[[Halo Mythos: A Guide to the Story of Halo]]''
*''[[Halo: Renegades]]'' {{mo}}
*''[[Halo: Point of Light]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo Infinite]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: The Rubicon Protocol]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Epitaph]]'' 
*''[[Halo: The Machine Breaks]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Empty Throne]]''
*''[[Halo: Tulpamancy]]''

==Sources==
{{Ref/Sources|2}}

{{Organizations}}

[[Category:Human]]
[[Category:Ancient humanity| ]]