History Main / SufficientlyAdvancedBambooTechnology

** At least one of the [[SufficientlyAdvancedAliens First Ones]] travels in a starship that resembles nothing so much as a cluster of large stones. [[PowerGlows with light emanating from the joints]]. It is powerful enough to [[SummonBiggerFish swat Vorlon and Shadow warships like flies]].

[[caption-width-right:350:[[BuildLikeAnEgyptian Fly like an Egyptian!]]

* ''Stone Trek'' - a fan-made mashup of ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones''. Definitely SufficientlyAdvancedBambooTechnology, given they have '''Faster Than Light Spaceflight''' with stone age tech.

[[caption-width-right:350:[[FuturisticPyramid Fly]] [[AncientAstronauts like]] [[BuildLikeAnEgyptian an]] [[Music/TheBangles Egyptian!]]]]

[[caption-width-right:350:[[FuturisticPyramid Fly]] [[AncientAstronauts like]] [[BuildLikeAnEgyptian an Egyptian!]]]]

* ''Creator/MarvelComics'': The country of [[ComicBook/BlackPanther Wakanda]] has advanced technology, some of which outpaces the rest of the world, but publicly wielded tools are intentionally designed to match the traditional African style of Wakandian ancestors.

** Wankandan technology as a whole in ''Film/{{Black Panther|2018}}''. Wakandans prefer basic melee weapons with ultra-tech refinements; the Dora Milaje use vibranium-enhanced spears that can pierce any mundane armor and [[BlownAcrossTheRoom send opponents flying when smacked with the blunt end]], the Border Tribe uses similar vibranium-enhanced sickles and cloaks that project DeflectorShields. No wonder Okoye sneers at chemical slugthrowers firearms as "primitive" and Klaue is giddy when he tells Ross that his car-smashing ArmCannon is just a re-purposed mining tool; the Wakandans have weapons that make it look like a leaf blower.

** From the same series, the Triluminaries, which although used by Minbari are not originally Minbari tech (they were given them by Valen, a [[ProphecyTwist "Minbari not born of Minbari,"]] [[spoiler:actually Jefferey Sinclair]], [[StableTimeLoop arrived back in time from the future]], [[spoiler:with technology created by the same people who created the Great Machine on Epsilon 3]]). Despite their origin and abilities, they had a rather primitive look, not unlike Enik's Altrusian technology from the original ''Series/LandOfTheLost'' (see below).

* ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'': Played straight with ancient technology on Kobol in both the old series (technology inside pyramids that interacted with Adama's legacy disco medallion) and the new one (a planetarium show on Kobol projected inside the Tomb of Athena, a cave with an entrance disguised like a rock face). Subverted this with the Arrow of Apollo: it didn't actually appear to have any special properties; being really just a museum artifact.

** D'argo's Qualta Blade is a marginal example of this trope. It's a powerful sword that transforms into an [[EnergyWeapon energy rifle]] more powerful than a Peacekeeper Pulse Rifle. It actually is ancient- it's been passed down through generations of D'argo's ancestors.

-->-- ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' ("Masks")

** Goa'uld staff weapons are another common example in the ''Stargate'' verse.
** Even the Goa'uld warships look like [[BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy pyramids]].
** The Nox and their technology (they are SufficientlyAdvancedAliens who disguise themselves as primitives) also follow this trope closely.

AncientAstronauts and {{Precursors}} have the interesting habit of building their technology to look like primitive artifacts. This is distinguished from classic BambooTechnology in function but not in form. In this case, apparently primitive constructs are actually technologically advanced devices. A shield generator, ancient godlike computer, or powerful superweapon may resemble a monument, or idol, a small handheld artifact. Rock faces will hide glowing energy conduits. Crystals can do anything from teleporting of people and objects to enhancing latent psychic powers. Carved stone tablets contain hidden machinery, or {{Nanotechnology}}, or some other AppliedPhlebotinum. Ancient control centers and consoles will resemble temples and altars. In many cases, the technology is designed to mimic the appearance of {{Magitek}}, but is actually AppliedPhlebotinum. Usually the aliens in this first variation are Precursors, Ancient Astronauts, or both, and inhabit [[TechnologyLevels the higher end]] of the [[JustForFun/AbusingTheKardashevScaleForFunAndProfit Kardashev Scale]], but there are exceptions. Though being [[SufficientlyAdvancedAlien "Sufficiently Advanced"]] is usually a characteristic of the makers of such technology, it's not required: HigherTechSpecies are known to adopt this style as well. Civilizations at the CrystalSpiresAndTogas level are very likely to use this kind of technology, often subtly blending it in with their surroundings or by making it appear decorative. The ArtifactOfDoom or the MacGuffin in a Sci-Fi setting, if of alien or other fantastic origin, is usually an example of this technology. Many a PowerCrystal and MineralMacGuffin are examples as well. The more ancient LostTechnology is, the more likely it will be an example of this trope.

* The exorcist ninja {{Magitek}} of ''Manga/AyakashiTriangle'' has an ancient Japanese aesthetic even when it's more advanced than modern regular technology. For instance, Reo has a fully-mobile training robot that's made almost entirely of wood and gears. Matsuri's battle suit looks like a stereotypical ninja outfit with a chainmail mesh, but also has air-conditioning and a cloaking device.

* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'': Paradise Island ([[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Pre-Crisis]]) had advanced technology, magic and {{magitek}} far outpacing the outside world but stuck to an Ancient Greek aesthetic. The Amazons developed an invisible plane, mental radio, and purple rays and used casual scrying devices to keep up to date on developments in the outside world but wore togas, used archery as a pastime and built their buildings in the ancient Greek style.

* One of the many images in ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide'' featuring cave men showed two of them inventing a "Time Log" which could also fly, and which they used to travel to the modern day to gawk at the future.

* Justified and explained in detail in ''Literature/DivineBloodNovels''. Each one of the races has the power to enchant magical artifacts, and magic is just a type of technology. And each race, happens to have a material that is easiest to enchant. Dwarves can use bronze, so all their magical artifacts are made of bronze. Gods can enhance trees, so all their technology is tree-oriented. Humans can enchant crystals, so human artifacts are crystal oriented. This leads to situations like a God having a wooden shield that works as a force field.

** Centauri technology has aesthetics that are heavily reminiscent of the ancient Roman Empire as well as pre-Revolutionary France. Though their devices look gaudy and out of place alongside utilitarian-looking Human technology, it is actually far more advanced. [[VestigialEmpire Although much reduced in power]] by the time humans have entered the galactic community, the Centauri Republic is actually one of the most technologically-advanced Younger Races in the setting, second only to the Minbari.

** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS13E3PyramidsOfMars Pyramids of Mars]]", Osiran technology looks like ancient Egyptian paraphernalia, but includes devices like robots and teleporters that work between Earth and Mars.

** "The City on the Edge of Forever" ([=S1E28=]): The Guardian of Forever resembles a doughnut-shaped stone slab, but it is actually a powerful device capable of TimeTravel. It's also sentient, and claims to be extremely ancient, and neither a machine nor living being; and yet both. It (along with the rest of the planet) apparently exists outside of time, as anyone nearby will be unaffected by even the most radical alterations to the timeline. It also comes with an AdvancedAncientAcropolis in the background.

** "The Q and the Grey": The weapons used by the Q look like Civil War era firearms, but are in fact so powerful that the kickback alone can destroy entire star systems in neighboring dimensions.
*** The weapons only appear like Civil War era firearms because the Q Continuum can only be perceived by humanoids in an allegorical or metaphorical sense; it cannot be perceived directly. The weapons look like Civil War weapons because Q has chosen to present the situation of the dissolution of the Continuum as 'like the Civil War'. He could have chosen a different analogy.

* The Green and White factions of New Phyrexia in ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering''. While both old Phyrexia and the new Blue, Black and Red factions make use of obvious metal, the Green faction as a whole is exceptionally organic (big surprise), and the White faction makes use primarily of a porcelain like metal, which makes them look more as if covered by and making use of things made of bone. Of course, the distinction between metals and natural materials is not very obvious to a civilization composed entirely of BodyHorror along those lines.
* One of the example {{NPC}}s in ''TabletopGame/GeniusTheTransgression'' is a [[MadScientist genius]] from an alternative timeline where metallurgy never appeared. As a result, all her [[MagicPoweredPseudoscience wonders]] have a stone age aesthetic. Similarly, a member of the TimePolice is a Maori from before the days of colonization who navigates history on his ''time canoe.'' Players can also create characters like this, since the rules pretty much state that they can use any style they want.

* A lot of Eldar and Necron technology in ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' is of this nature. Eldar technology tends to resemble exquisitely carved bone, rendered in flowing organic shapes and studded with gemstones. High-ranking Eldar seers carry decorative spears, wear ribbed bone breastplates and cast bone runes from leather pouches. The "bone" in question is actually a highly advanced psycho-plastic substance called Wraithbone, and is shaped by the Eldar's formidable mental powers. The Dark Eldar use a similarly organic aesthetic, but with even weirder and much nastier devices at their disposal. Many of their most exotic weapons look like objects out of a fairy-tale, such as mirrors that shatter the individual reflected in them when they break, or caskets of malicious flesh-eating sprites.
** The Necrons, meanwhile, use architecture of black stone and use [[SicklyGreenGlow glowing green]] crystals, hypothetically even in technical buildings that stave off metaphysical influences. Their vehicles look like egyptian boats, except that they hover, and numerous heavy-and-upwards vehicles look like pyramids. They also use such wonders as Resurrection Orbs (a glowing crystal sphere that enhances the repair protocols of the Necron Warriors), Sempiternal Weave (a highly advanced force field that looks like a scale-mail cloak) and various weaponised staves.
** The more esoteric items of Imperial technology tend to look much less advanced to modern eyes than they are, frequently having a Medieval, Renaissance or Victorian (steampunk) aesthetic, with many time-stopping Stasis Grenades resembling nothing so much as a 19th century carriage clock. The weapon on the front of the Dark Angels' Nephilim Attack Fighter has the physical form of a stained-glass window, and its stasis bomb looks like a giant glowing hourglass. The more elaborate Imperial storm shields tend to look like highly decorated metal shields that would not have been out of place in the Classical or Medieval world. Their war ships even look like spaceborne Gothic cathedrals, only with an armored ram on the prow, engines on the back, and weapons sticking out the sides.

* A lot of Chozo tech in the ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'' series looks like this. Chozo made a point of building their technology in harmony with nature, rather than against it. A lot of it appears to be stone or simple metalwork... and then the statues come to life and begin shooting high powered laser blasts and you realize just how advanced the Chozo were.

* ''Some'' of the [[{{Precursors}} Ancients]]' technology in VideoGame/MightAndMagic looked like this, the main example being a pyramid that was the part of a GenerationShip that had been preserved after landfall. Among other things, it has radiation-curing pools of water and vital command codes recorded on seemingly ordinary paper that has lasted for over a millenia.

* The neolithic-looking Nordic ruins from ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'' mostly have just plan old BambooTechnology but occasionally houses powerful artifacts like the Eye Of Magnus or [[spoiler:a portal to the afterlife realm Sovngarde]]. Meridia's shrine also has an impressive system of communication with the beacons using a beam of light. A lot of this involves {{Magitek}} though.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Battleborn}}'', the Eldrid have this. Along with much of their technology being OrganicTechnology, many of it also resembles like it's made out of ancient stone structures and such. This is best seen with the ancient but still functioning tech of the Aztanti, the ancient precursors of the Eldrid. While Eldrid tech as these on the surface look ancient and primitive, they are actually quite advanced if not much more than others due to being several millennia old. This look pretty much aligns with the Eldrid's philosophy with being one with nature rather than imposing on it.
* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX'': Downplayed example with the Nopon technology. They appear on the outset to be comparatively primitive, living in thatched huts made of sticks and leaves, and relying on beasts of burden rather than any kind of engine. On the other hand, they carry around strange lollipop-looking gadgets which are apparently multipurpose communicators that can even interface with the humans' without issue, the weaponry they design is at least on par with human and other alien weaponry, and they never show any surprise or confusion towards advanced technology, seeming to understand it just fine. Contrast the Prone, who actually are primitive hunter-gatherers, and their utter incomprehension of the technology around them.

* Crops up in ''VideoGame/{{Starbound}}'', primarily with the Avians and the Florans. The Avians are culturally on the level of Aztecs (complete with a prominent religion that incorporates sacrifice), yet have access to space flight, energy weapons, computers and more, all of which make use of strange red crystals whose workings are a closely guarded secret of the priesthood (and who were given the technology by precursors). Florans, meanwile, are very primitive and cannot really understand higher technology, but some of them can control plants and combine it with scavenged technology so they can use it properly, giving them spaceships, weapons and more. Their ability to work with plants also lets them make organic lights and living vine doors, among other things. The result is that Avian spaceships, for instance, resemble huge flying pyramids, while Floran ships are cobbled together from vines and stolen ship parts.

* Most weapons themed around a specific time period in ''VideoGame/{{Warframe}}'' look like obsolete weapons when compared to the other choices on offer, but actually [[SchizoTech employ cutting edge materials and technology]] to be just as deadly as any other weapon, especially in the hands of a Tenno. Prime examples are the [[KatanasAreJustBetter Nikanas]]; the [[AutomaticCrossbows Zhuge, Attica and Nagantaka]] and the [[FightingWithChucks Ninkondi and Shaku]], which can easily keep up with assault rifles, plasma casters and handheld laser cannons.
** Owing to their whole "space ninja" M.O., the Tenno themselves take heavy inspiration from japanese and chinese culture in their own architecture and culture. But are among the most technologically advanced of all the factions, utilising [[LostTechnology replicated technology from the preceeding Orokin Empire]] if not having direct access to the [[SuperPrototype original blueprints with their "Prime" variants]]. The only faction to compete are the [[MegaCorp Corpus]], who have started to employ [[BiotechIsBetter Sentient technology]] specifically as a countermeasure against the Tenno.

** The booby-trapped temple in "Too Much of A Gold Thing". By opening all the doors to all three treasure vaults at once, Scrooge [=McDuck=] sets off a device that, in quick succession, causes the floor to collapse into a lake a molten gold, the temple to sink in the lake of molten gold, the entire valley to be engulfed in a lake of molten gold, and said lake of molten gold to explode in a volcanic eruption.

* Many buildings will use standardized materials for rapid and reliable construction, but do things like make a facade that resembles roughly-cut stone blocks to give it the appearance and gravitas of a much older structure.

* The Stonehenge-like teleportation arcs in the Italian BMovie ''Cosmos: War Of The Planets''.

** Wankandan technology as a whole in ''Film/BlackPanther2018''. Wakandans prefer basic melee weapons with ultra-tech refinements; the Dora Milaje use vibranium-enhanced spears that can pierce any mundane armor and [[BlownAcrossTheRoom send opponents flying when smacked with the blunt end]], the Border Tribe uses similar vibranium-enhanced sickles and cloaks that project DeflectorShields. No wonder Okoye sneers at chemical slugthrowers firearms as "primitive" and Klaue is giddy when he tells Ross that his car-smashing ArmCannon is just a re-purposed mining tool; the Wakandans have weapons that make it look like a leaf blower.

* Most of ''Creator/HPLovecraft'''s [[{{EldritchAbomination}} Old Ones]] from the Franchise/CthulhuMythos use this: they live (or used to) in cyclopean cities, sometimes filled with columns, the inhabitants they are incomprehensible and so are their designs. However, it's hinted their technology is so advanced, humans can barely understand it.
* Justified and explained in DETAIL in ''Literature/DivineBloodNovels''. Each one of the races has the power to enchant magical artifacts, and magic is just a type of technology. And each race, happens to have a material that is easiest to enchant. Dwarves can use bronze, so all their magical artifacts are made of bronze. Gods can enhance trees, so all their technology is tree-oriented. Humans can enchant crystals, so human artifacts are crystal oriented. This leads to situations like a God having a wooden shield that works as a force field.

* ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003'' subverted this with the Arrow of Apollo (it didn't actually appear to have any special properties; being really just a museum artifact).
** Played straight with ancient technology on Kobol in both the old series (technology inside pyramids that interacted with Adama's legacy disco medallion) and the new one (a planetarium show on Kobol projected inside the Tomb of Athena, a cave with an entrance disguised like a rock face).
* ''Series/BlakesSeven'': Sinofar and Jiroc, representatives of a long-dead civilization, appeared to use a combination of this and psionic powers to interfere with a battle in space and teleport selected combatants to a ritual battleground.

* ''{{Series/Farscape}}'': When the ancient Hynerians stranded their Acquaran subjects on their jungle planet, they designed the device that produced the anti-technology force field on the planet to look like a primitive stone statue of a royal Hynerian. From the Acquarans' perspective, the ancient Hynerians were Precursors, despite not being "sufficiently advanced" themselves.

* Most weapons themed around a specific time period in {{VideoGame/Warframe}} look like obsolete weapons when compared to the other choices on offer, but actually [[SchizoTech employ cutting edge materials and technology]] to be just as deadly as any other weapon, especially in the hands of a Tenno. Prime examples are the [[KatanasAreJustBetter Nikanas]]; the [[AutomaticCrossbows Zhuge, Attica and Nagantaka]] and the [[FightingWithChucks Ninkondi and Shaku]], which can easily keep up with assault rifles, plasma casters and handheld laser cannons.

* Parodied in the Flash-animated series ''Stone Trek,'' which is an odd fusion of ''WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones'' and ''Franchise/StarTrek''. Their stoneship is made of rock and wood, their reactor core is a portable volcano, and their transporter literally just opens trap doors under the crew to drop them down to the planet.

* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'':

** The villain in the movie, ''WesternAnimation/TheManCalledFlintstone'', uses the series's Modern Stone Age technology to build missiles, and it's implied that the government is, too. A TV special, ''Fred's Final Fling'', showed that cave-humanity had already flung boulders into orbit by the series' time.

[[quoteright:300:[[Film/{{Stargate}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/300px_9115.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:300:[[FuturisticPyramid Fly]] [[AncientAstronauts like]] [[BuildLikeAnEgyptian an Egyptian!]]]]

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': The ruins of ancient Gem sites, despite being built by a spacefaring race, look like ancient human ruins albeit with some [[{{Bizarrchitecture}} stranger elements.]] The ubiquitous [[PortalNetwork warp pads]] look like nondescript stone daises. Even the {{Flying Saucer}}s they flew in on seem to be made of stone and have the interior as a TempleOfDoom. By contrast, modern Homeworld technology is obviously advanced and quite alien-looking. In a more comical variant, Pearl and Peridot once made functioning {{Mini Mecha}}s out of a bunch of scrap sitting in a barn. Pearl's includes a laser beam that fires out of a ''traffic cone''.

* The exorcist ninja {{Magitek}} of ''Manga/AyakashiTriangle'' has an ancient Japanese aesthetic even when it's more advanced than modern regular technology. For instance, Reo has a fully-mobile training robot that's made almost entirely of wood and gears.

AncientAstronauts and {{Precursors}} have the interesting habit of building their technology to look like primitive artifacts. This is distinguished from classic BambooTechnology in function but not in form. In this case, apparently primitive constructs are actually technologically advanced devices. A shield generator, ancient godlike computer, or powerful superweapon may resemble a monument, or idol, a small handheld artifact. Rock faces will hide glowing energy conduits. Crystals can do anything from teleporting of people and objects to enhancing latent psychic powers. Stone tablets with primitive carvings contain hidden machinery, or {{Nanotechnology}}, or some other AppliedPhlebotinum. Ancient control centers and consoles will resemble temples and altars. In many cases, the technology is designed to mimic the appearance of {{Magitek}}, but is actually AppliedPhlebotinum. Usually the aliens in this first variation are Precursors, Ancient Astronauts, or both, and inhabit [[TechnologyLevels the higher end]] of the [[JustForFun/AbusingTheKardashevScaleForFunAndProfit Kardashev Scale]], but there are exceptions. Though being [[SufficientlyAdvancedAlien "Sufficiently Advanced"]] is usually a characteristic of the makers of such technology, it's not required: HigherTechSpecies are known to adopt this style as well. Civilizations at the CrystalSpiresAndTogas level are very likely to use this kind of technology, often subtly blending it in with their surroundings or by making it appear decorative. The ArtifactOfDoom or the MacGuffin in a Sci-Fi setting, if of alien or other fantastic origin, is usually an example of this technology. Many a PowerCrystal and MineralMacGuffin are examples as well. The more ancient LostTechnology is, the more likely it will be an example of this trope.

** Wankandan technology as a whole in ''Film/BlackPanther2018''. Wakandans prefer tribal weapons with ultra-tech refinements; the Dora Milaje use vibranium-enhanced spears that can pierce any mundane armor and [[BlownAcrossTheRoom send opponents flying when smacked with the blunt end]], the Border Tribe uses similar vibranium-enhanced sickles and cloaks that project DeflectorShields. No wonder Okoye sneers at chemical slugthrowers firearms as "primitive" and Klaue is giddy when he tells Ross that his car-smashing ArmCannon is just a re-purposed mining tool; the Wakandans have weapons that make it look like a leaf blower.

** From the same series, the Triluminaries, which although used by Minbari are not originally Minbari tech (they were given them by Valen, a [[ProphecyTwist "Minbari not born of Minbari,"]] [[spoiler:actually Jefferey Sinclair]], [[StableTimeLoop arrived back in time from the future]], [[spoiler:with technology created by the same people who created the Great Machine on Epsilon 3]]). Despite their origin and abilities, they had a rather primitive look, not unlike Enik's Altrusian technology from the original ''Series/LandOfTheLost'' (see above).

* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'': Paradise Island (Pre-Crisis) had advanced technology, magic and {{magitek}} far outpacing the outside world but stuck to an Ancient Greek aesthetic. The Amazons developed an invisible plane, mental radio, and purple rays and used casual scrying devices to keep up to date on developments in the outside world but wore togas, used archery as a pastime and built their buildings in the ancient Greek style.

** The more esoteric items of Imperial technology tend to look much less advanced to modern eyes than they are, frequently having a Medieval, Renaissance or Victorian (steampunk) aesthetic, with many time-stopping Stasis Grenades resembling nothing so much as a 19th century carriage clock. The weapon on the front of the Dark Angels' Nephilim Attack Fighter has the physical form of a stained-glass window, and its stasis bomb looks like a giant glowing hourglass. The more elaborate Imperial storm shields tend to look like highly decorated metal shields that would not have been out of place in the Classical or Medieval world.

* One of the example {{NPC}}s in ''TabletopGame/GeniusTheTransgression'' is a [[MadScientist genius]] from an alternative timeline where metallurgy never appeared. As a result, all her [[MagicPoweredPseudoscience wonders]] have a stone age aesthetic. Players can also create characters like this, since the rules pretty much state that they can use any style they want.

* Many of the Atlantean technology in Disney's ''Disney/AtlantisTheLostEmpire'', such as [[IfItSwimsItFlies the fish-shaped aircraft]] and the [[HumongousMecha Stone Giants]], are all based on and powered by crystals.

* [[HomemadeInventions 2x4 technology]] in ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'' varies in function from [[BambooTechnology mundane]] to impossibly advance. For instance, the S.P.L.A.N.K.E.R. is really just a handheld weapon consisting of two boards with a spring-loaded hinge, while other weapons, including guns that at first only shoot mustard or gumballs, are upgraded to high-tech ray guns after ContinuityCreep sets in.

** The booby trapped temple in "Too Much of A Gold Thing". By opening all the doors to all three treasure vaults at once, Scrooge [=McDuck=] sets off a device that, in quick succession: causes the floor to collapse into a lake a molten gold, causes the temple to sink in the lake of molten gold, causes the entire valley to be engulfed in a lake of molten gold, and causes said lake of molten gold to explode in a volcanic eruption.

** The ''[[WesternAnimation/CaptainCavemanAndTheTeenAngels Captain Caveman]]'' segments of ''The Flintstone Comedy Show'' (and later spinoff ''The Flintstone Kids'') often featured various villains using highly advanced technology. In ''The Flintstone Comedy Show,'' supervillain duo Stormfront and Weathergirl had a weather-controlling ring; in ''The Flintstone Kids'', recurring villain Mr. Bad once made use of highly functional robots.
** The villain in the movie, ''WesternAnimation/TheManCalledFlintstone'', uses the series's Modern Stone Age technology to build missiles, and it's implied that the government is too. A TV special, ''Fred's Final Fling'', had shown that cave-humanity had already flung boulders into orbit by the series's time.
* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': The ruins of ancient Gem sites, despite being built by a spacefaring race, look like ancient human ruins albeit with some [[{{Bizarrchitecture}} stranger elements]]. The ubiquitous [[PortalNetwork warp pads]] look like nondescript stone daises. Even the {{Flying Saucer}}s they flew in on seem to be made of stone and have the interior of a TempleOfDoom. By contrast, modern Homeworld technology is obviously advanced and quite alien-looking. In a more comical variant, Pearl and Peridot once made functioning MiniMecha out of a bunch of scrap sitting in a barn; Pearl's includes a laser beam that fires out of a ''traffic cone''.

* There's almost too many architecture movements to list, art deco for example is defined by its homage to ancient styles yet fully embraces the use of machine-age technology to achieve this, resulting in the Empire State Building resembling a ziggurat, and the Chrysler Building having gargoyles.

* ''Series/BlakesSeven'': Sinofar and Jiroc, representatives of a long-dead civilization, appeared to use a combination of this and psionic powers to interfere with a battle in space and teleport selected combatants to a ritual battleground.
** The Seska on planet Xenon implanted psionic Dynamon Crystals in their necks through a kind of surgery, granting themselves telekinetic superpowers.
* ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003'' subverted this with the Arrow of Apollo (it didn't actually appear to have any special properties; being really just a museum artifact).
** Played straight with ancient technology on Kobol in both the old series (technology inside pyramids that interacted with Adama's legacy disco medallion) and the new one (a planetarium show on Kobol projected inside the Tomb of Athena, a cave with an entrance disguised like a rock face).
* ''Series/LandOfTheLost''
** The Pylons and Matrix Tables in the original series (and the rest of [[HigherTechSpecies Altrusian]] technology, too, as well as the technology of the mysterious "[[{{Precursors}} Builders]]"). Since the Land itself was implied to have been constructed, the various colored crystals (psionic and otherwise -- they have different properties depending on their color) also count. The Sleestaks and the Marshalls, on the other hand, used actual BambooTechnology.
** In the [[Series/LandOfTheLost1991 Nineties version]], [[BigBad Shung's]] psionic crystal sword, as well as some other ancient technology encountered by the Porters. Similar to the original, the (possibly artificial) title "Land" contains deposits of powerful crystals that the Porter family uses as batteries, among other purposes.
* ''{{Series/Farscape}}'': When the ancient Hynerians stranded their Acquaran subjects on their jungle planet, they designed the device that produced the anti-technology force field on the planet to look like a primitive stone statue of a royal Hynerian. From the Acquarans' perspective, the ancient Hynerians were Precursors, despite not being "sufficiently advanced" themselves.
** The Darnaz Probes from "What Was Lost" Parts 1 and 2 are another example of powerful ancient technology designed to look like archaeological artifacts. Their purpose was to make the planet Arnessk, home to [[spoiler:peace-engendering Eidelon priests]], uninhabitable. It's never revealed who sent them, they are only referred to as "enemies of peace," but it's implied that they were the ancient ancestors of the Scarrans. The [[spoiler:time-shifted Temple]] may count as this too, it's not clear how the priests of Arnessk accomplished that one, whether with technology or psionics.
** D'argo's Qualta Blade is a marginal example of this trope. It's a powerful sword that transforms into an [[EnergyWeapon energy rifle]] more powerful than a Peacekeeper Pulse Rifle. It actually is ancient- it's been passed down through generations of D'argo's ancestors.
** The Aquarrans are an interesting case, as they are in fact aware that they themselves were once an advanced spacefaring people (and in fact were as technologically advanced as any others in that part of the galaxy). Unfortunately, the knowledge of their history was deliberately repressed by their priests to elevate themselves to a position of power in their society.
* ''Series/BabylonFive'': The [[CrystalSpiresAndTogas Minbari]] are generally the ones to disguise their technology as simple glass rings (in "The Gathering" pilot movie), crystals (a lot of their tech), stone constructs (the ancient Wheel of Fire), etc. Even the interiors of their starships look a bit like really shiny alien cathedrals, and the control centers of their major warships, the ''Sharlin''-class warcruisers, resemble black voids with surreal levitating stones above a lighted circle where the command crew stands and observes the battle, which is projected holographically around them. The Minbari (or at least the [[SpaceElves religious caste]]) are obsessed with tradition, so this is in keeping with their on-screen portrayal. They are also a deceptive people who "never tell anyone the whole truth," so the fact that a lot of their technology is "hidden" from plain sight like this makes sense.
** Centauri technology has aesthetics that are heavily reminiscent of the ancient Roman Empire as well as pre-Revolutionary France. Though their devices look gaudy and out of place alongside utilitarian-looking Human technology, it is actually far more advanced. [[VestigialEmpire Although much reduced in power]] by the time humans have entered the galactic community, the Centauri Republic is actually one of the most technologically-advanced Younger Races in the setting, second only to the Minbari.
** From the same series, the Triluminaries, which although used by Minbari are not originally Minbari tech (they were given them by Valen, a [[ProphecyTwist "Minbari not born of Minbari,"]] [[spoiler:actually Jefferey Sinclair]], [[StableTimeLoop arrived back in time from the future]], [[spoiler:with technology created by the same people who created the Great Machine on Epsilon 3]]). Despite their origin and abilities, they had a rather primitive look, not unlike Enik's Altrusian technology from the original ''Series/LandOfTheLost'' (see above).
** The organic technology that a scientist brought aboard in a first season episode at first resembled some kind of ancient artifact [[spoiler:before it began assimilating the scientist's assistant into a LivingWeapon.]]
** Several other ancient races on various episodes of its SpinOff, ''Series/{{Crusade}}''.
** The [[AbusivePrecursors Shadows]] and [[NeglectfulPrecursors Vorlons]], however, generally averted this trope, as they used [[OrganicTechnology living technology]] and {{Living Ship}}s. In an implied inversion of this trope, several characters, however, noted that the Vorlons sometimes use more primitive technology to hide how advanced they really are.
** At least one of the [[SufficientlyAdvancedAliens First Ones]] travel in a starship that resembles nothing so much as a cluster of large stones. [[PowerGlows with light emanating from the joints.]] It is powerful enough to [[SummonBiggerFish swat Vorlon and Shadow warships like flies]].
* An ancient Alien spacecraft discovered buried under an African beach on ''Series/TheXFiles'' appeared to be made out of stone and covered in ancient writing.
* The Frozen Wheel from ''Series/{{Lost}}'': It looks Stone Age, but turning it manipulates space-time and teleports you to Tunisia.
* The Shiba clan of ''Series/SamuraiSentaiShinkenger'' runs on Sufficiently Advanced Edo-punk technology. What elevates it to this level is little details like the Shinkenger's Edo era fore bearers having the same TransformationTrinket that their modern counterparts do... a cellphone that becomes a calligraphy brush. Their mentor, Ji, even has one that appears to be made of bamboo.
* In the original (70's) ''Series/BattlestarGalactica,'' the people of Kobol, the ancestral planet of humanity, were super-advanced, as evidenced by their ultra-tech pyramids and medallions.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS13E3PyramidsOfMars Pyramids of Mars]]", Osiran technology looks like ancient Egyptian paraphernalia, but includes devices like robots and teleporters that work between Earth and Mars.
** The Doctor's iconic TARDIS, an intelligent time-traveling spaceship that is BiggerOnTheInside, always looks like a blue police box since its chameleon circuit was damaged.
** Some other Time Lord technology seems to be similarly deceptively primitive-looking, such as the Moment, a superweapon which looks like a wooden puzzle box; the Prime Eye Of Harmony, a simple stone obelisk that's really a reality-warping energy source made from a black hole; and the Matrix, an artificial afterlife of sorts that the Doctor described as 'a giant computer made of stone and ghosts', which is not far off the mark.

* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'':
** The booby trapped temple in "Too Much of A Gold Thing". By opening all the doors to all three treasure vaults at once, Scrooge [=McDuck=] sets off a device that, in quick succession: causes the floor to collapse into a lake a molten gold, causes the temple to sink in the lake of molten gold, causes the entire valley to be engulfed in a lake of molten gold, and causes said lake of molten gold to explode in a volcanic eruption.
** In "Bubba's Big Brainstorm," the ancient "Thinkas" are pure {{Mayincatec}} in their styling, yet use computerized and robotic defenses reminiscent of PointAndClick adventure game puzzles.
* The ruins of gem ancient sites in ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'', despite being built by a space-faring race, look like ancient human ruins albeit with some [[{{Bizarrchitecture}} stranger elements]]. The ubiquitous [[PortalNetwork warp pads]] look like nondescript stone daises. Even the {{Flying Saucer}}s they flew in on seem to be made of stone and have the interior of a TempleOfDoom. By contrast, modern Homeworld technology is obviously advanced and quite alien-looking. In a more comical variant, Pearl and Peridot once made functioning MiniMecha out of a bunch of scrap sitting in a barn; Pearl's includes a laser beam that fires out of a ''traffic cone''.
* Pops up repeatedly in ''WesternAnimation/TheDavincibles''. One episode for example featured a Maya temple that turned out to be an ancient spaceship.
* [[HomemadeInventions 2x4 technology]] in ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'' varies in function from [[BambooTechnology mundane]] to impossibly advance. For instance, the S.P.L.A.N.K.E.R. is really just a handheld weapon consisting of two boards with a spring-loaded hinge, while other weapons, including guns that at first only shoot mustard or gumballs, are upgraded to high-tech ray guns after ContinuityCreep sets in.