Forum:When did (modern) humanity first encounter Forerunner tech?

I'm not very well-versed in Halo canon that takes place in the earlier years of the UNSC, so I'm seeking some guidance. When exactly did humanity first encounter Forerunner technology? Since they achieved slipspace travel and colonized many worlds, they were bound to find Forerunner ruins early on. Worlds like Harvest and Reach had Forerunner technology, although hidden from plain sight. But Arcadia had Forerunner ruins in plain sight with human cities built in their vicinity. This would all be fine and dandy, except for a few instances. In Halo: Reach, when unveiling the Forerunner artifact below the ice shelf, Halsey says "before you is an alien artifact neither human nor Covenant in origin", as if Noble team was oblivious to the concept of the Forerunners. And in Halo: CE, the halo is generally regarded as of unknown origin until Cortana says "...the ring...it's Forerunner...", however, not everything in CE fits seamlessly with current canon.-- Fluffy Emo Penguin ( ice quack! ) 23:08, 18 December 2012 (EST)


 * It's unknown as it is inconsistent. Much of it is due to who is supervising the development of the Halo universe in each Halo title. If you choose to follow strictly to Bungie's perspective, the UNSC learnt of the Forerunners in the first Halo title (as per the phrase you quoted although it is taken out of context). If you choose to follow Microsoft's/343i's, it would be Halo Wars, that is in 2531 (that cutscene showing Anders and her lab of floating Forerunner relics). Bungie's is far more consistent in between the four Halo titles when it comes to learning about the Forerunner whereas Halo 4 assumes you've followed closely to Microsoft's/343i's development of the Halo universe and that Forerunner is known to UNSC since Arcadia.— subtank   08:50, 19 December 2012 (EST)
 * ONI Field Report A84110 from Ghosts of Onyx shows that the UNSC had at least some knowledge of the Forerunners as early as 2511. Somewhat curiously though, despite the clear presence of Forerunner ruins on Arcadia, that planet was extensively colonised starting in 2429 and was not subject to the same restrictions. Perhaps colonisation was at too advanced a stage to reverse it when the ruins were discovered, or ONI was not as powerful at the time when Arcadia was colonised?--The All-knowing Sith&#39;ari 11:53, 19 December 2012 (EST)
 * That, and perhaps the ruins on Arcadia were considered to be of less significance (by ONI and/or the Assembly) than the findings on Onyx and ONI realized that simply quarantining the select areas on the planet would suffice? This wouldn't be difficult on a world like Arcadia, which was mostly uninhabited and the ruins would be conveniently hidden from civilian satellite coverage by dense jungle. One figures that putting an entire planet off-limits would raise plenty of suspicions, in particular when said planet is ripe for settlement, so even ONI wouldn't do something like that very lightly. --Jugus (Talk  | Contribs ) 14:24, 19 December 2012 (EST)
 * Wasn't the ONI site at New Mombasa purposefully built over the Portal? Wouldn't that suggest ONI had an idea for an extended time period of Forerunners? Guardaxion
 * We don't have proof that ONI knew of the Portal when they built Alpha Site; no signs of previous digging, data, or reports. Although, we do know that CASTLE already undergoing digging to uncover the Forerunner complex beneath it, and depending on how recently SWORD Base was built it too might have been commissioned for a similar reason. Tuckerscreator (stalk ) 17:02, 19 December 2012 (EST)
 * The ONI Alpha Site page begs to differ. Guardaxion