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Predecessors now leave behind nothing but [[AdvancedAncientAcropolis tantalizing ruins]] and rare, sometimes incomprehensible [[LostTechnology artifacts]] and [[PointlessDoomsdayDevice dangerous weapons]]. (Any of the aforementioned sorts of relics may be a BigDumbObject.) Just why, no one knows. Perhaps they AscendedToAHigherPlaneOfExistence, succumbed to decadence, were wiped out by [[{{Gotterdammerung}} a disaster or war]], or maybe they just relocated ''en masse'' to ''somewhere else'' where they haven't been found yet.

Whatever the reason, they set the stage for the modern world, left behind a few {{MacGuffin}}s and surprises for the heroes and villains to find, and then conveniently [[NeglectfulPrecursors got out of the way]]. Usually, their disapperence was a sudden and dramatic event, and often comes paired with a WorldSundering whose scars linger well into the present. Afterwards, there is usually a long dark age of barbarism and savagery before the setting's modern civilizations emerge or recover. And then there are the times where they themselves are the reason everything's gone to hell, [[AbusivePrecursors and they intend to keep it that way]]. If the Precursors implemented a plan that, whether they still exist or not, still influences outcomes, then they are also PowersThatBe.

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Predecessors now leave behind nothing but [[AdvancedAncientAcropolis tantalizing ruins]] and rare, sometimes incomprehensible [[LostTechnology artifacts]] LostTechnology, {{Ancient Artifact}}s, and [[PointlessDoomsdayDevice dangerous weapons]]. (Any of the aforementioned sorts of relics may be a BigDumbObject.) Just why, no one knows. Perhaps they AscendedToAHigherPlaneOfExistence, succumbed to decadence, were wiped out by [[{{Gotterdammerung}} a disaster or war]], or maybe they just relocated ''en masse'' to ''somewhere else'' where they haven't been found yet.

Whatever the reason, they set the stage for the modern world, left behind a few {{MacGuffin}}s and surprises for the heroes and villains to find, and then conveniently [[NeglectfulPrecursors got out of the way]]. Usually, their disapperence disappearance was a sudden and dramatic event, and often comes paired with a WorldSundering whose scars linger well into the present.present. In fantasy, magical Precursor civilizations often annihilate themselves in a WizardsWar. Afterwards, there is usually a long dark age of barbarism and savagery before the setting's modern civilizations emerge or recover. And then there are the times where they themselves are the reason everything's gone to hell, [[AbusivePrecursors and they intend to keep it that way]]. If the Precursors implemented a plan that, whether they still exist or not, still influences outcomes, then they are also PowersThatBe.
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Whatever the reason, they set the stage for the modern world, left behind a few {{MacGuffin}}s and surprises for the heroes and villains to find, and then conveniently [[NeglectfulPrecursors got out of the way]]. And then there are the times where they themselves are the reason everything's gone to hell, [[AbusivePrecursors and they intend to keep it that way]]. If the Precursors implemented a plan that, whether they still exist or not, still influences outcomes, then they are also PowersThatBe.

to:

Whatever the reason, they set the stage for the modern world, left behind a few {{MacGuffin}}s and surprises for the heroes and villains to find, and then conveniently [[NeglectfulPrecursors got out of the way]]. Usually, their disapperence was a sudden and dramatic event, and often comes paired with a WorldSundering whose scars linger well into the present. Afterwards, there is usually a long dark age of barbarism and savagery before the setting's modern civilizations emerge or recover. And then there are the times where they themselves are the reason everything's gone to hell, [[AbusivePrecursors and they intend to keep it that way]]. If the Precursors implemented a plan that, whether they still exist or not, still influences outcomes, then they are also PowersThatBe.



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* In ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', the First Ancestral Race (FAR) dropped Black and White Eggs (Adams and Liliths) on several planets. No planet was supposed to get more than one Egg, but because we got two, we got the inter-egg wars that compose the series proper (Lilith's children vs. Adam's children). The First Ancestral Race were never mentioned in the show itself, [[AllThereInTheManual but is referred to]] in the early scripts and gets a bit more fleshed out in the ''Neon Genesis Evangelion 2'' UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 game that served as supplemental material.

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* In ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', the First Ancestral Race (FAR) dropped Black and White Eggs (Adams and Liliths) on several planets. No planet was supposed to get more than one Egg, but because we got two, we got the inter-egg wars that compose the series proper (Lilith's children vs. Adam's children). The First Ancestral Race were never mentioned in the show itself, [[AllThereInTheManual but is referred to]] in the early scripts and gets a bit more fleshed out in the ''Neon Genesis Evangelion 2'' UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 Platform/PlayStation2 game that served as supplemental material.
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** In ''Fanfic/{{Austraeoh}}'', Whitemane explains that Alicorns first found the world, floating barren in the void, and seeded it with life. She lies. [[spoiler:Pegasi were the first race to inhabit the world, possibly before [[RingWorldPlanet Urohringr]] was broken into twelve pieces. Modern ponies are descended from them through alicorn meddling]].
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* ''Film/{{Moonfall}}'' reveals that the human race as we know it is the second coming of humanity, seeded on Earth by an advanced human empire annihilated by its own A.I. creation, with only the moon megastructure and its controlling artificial intelligence remaining as their legacy.
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* ''Fanfic/AlienSpeciesCrossoverReturnToLV426'': The Engineers are mentioned, and remain highly mysterious. There's also whoever sent the message to Earth containing the genetic information that created Lise, called the Senders, for lack of a better word.
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* In ''Anime/GundamBuildDiversReRise'', There are a number of sand-filled ruins that the [=BUILD DiVERS=] emerge from to reach Eldora, and it is discovered that the One-Eyes that have been attacking were created by a defensive AI the Ancients left behind long ago, and sees the new Eldorans that evolved on the planet in the Ancients' absence as invaders. [[spoiler:Then after everything is discovered to be real, a new wrinkle is found: some the Ancients themselves digitized themselves when they left Eldora, found their way tonEarth, and ended up entering GBN early in its development. Their souls have been reincarnating as EL-Divers, the living AIs that have been spontaneously appearing in GBN for the past two years.]]

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* In ''Anime/GundamBuildDiversReRise'', There are a number of sand-filled ruins that the [=BUILD DiVERS=] emerge from to reach Eldora, and it is discovered that the One-Eyes that have been attacking were created by a defensive AI the Ancients left behind long ago, and sees the new Eldorans that evolved on the planet in the Ancients' absence as invaders. [[spoiler:Then after everything is discovered to be real, a new wrinkle is found: some the Ancients themselves digitized themselves when they left Eldora, found their way tonEarth, to Earth, and ended up entering GBN early in its development. Their souls have been reincarnating as EL-Divers, the living AIs that have been spontaneously appearing in GBN for the past two years.]]
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* In ''WebOriginal/OrionsArm'' abandoned ruins with highly advanced technology are considerably more common than living aliens with technology even close to the level of Terragen civilization. Many find this somewhat disturbing.

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* In ''WebOriginal/OrionsArm'' ''Website/OrionsArm'' abandoned ruins with highly advanced technology are considerably more common than living aliens with technology even close to the level of Terragen civilization. Many find this somewhat disturbing.

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* In ''Manga/HoshinEngi'', five aliens, The First People, came to Earth millions of years ago after their home planet self-destructed. All but [[SealedEvilInACan one]] merged with the Earth and its life forms to spread their blood, leaving behind the first seven paope (magical weapons used in the series) from which all others would be copied.



* In the ''Manga/SoulHunter'' manga, five aliens, The First People, came to Earth millions of years ago after their home planet self-destructed. All but [[SealedEvilInACan one]] merged with the earth and its life forms to spread their blood, leaving behind the first seven paopei (magical weapons used in the series) from which all others would be copied.
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edited homo erectus a bit


* ''Homo erectus''. They inhabited Africa and most of Eurasia for over 2 million years, and are believed to be the first species of human, and the first in Earth's history to make complex hunting tools, control fire and cook their food, and (it's debated) to have symbolic customs, such as burial rites. They were so widespread that they gave rise to many different subspecies of humans, including ''Homo heidelbergensis'', the ancestor of both modern humans and Neanderthals. There are ongoing debates about whether some known groups of early humans are actually ''Homo erectus'' or a subspecies descended from them.

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* ''Homo erectus''. They inhabited Africa and most of Eurasia for over 2 million years, and are once believed to be the first species of human, human (technically that position goes to Homo habilis, but it's debated whether they really belong in the Homo genus), and the first in Earth's history to make complex hunting tools, control fire and cook their food, and (it's debated) to have symbolic customs, such as burial rites. They were so widespread that they gave rise to many different subspecies species of humans, including ''Homo heidelbergensis'', the ancestor of both modern humans and Neanderthals. There are ongoing debates about whether some known groups of early humans are actually ''Homo erectus'' or a subspecies descended from them.
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Predecessors now leave behind nothing but [[AdvancedAncientAcropolis tantalizing ruins]] and rare, sometimes incomprehensible [[LostTechnology artifacts]] and [[PointlessDoomsdayDevice dangerous weapons]]. (Any of the aforementioned sorts of relics may be a BigDumbObject.) Just why, no one knows. Perhaps they AscendedToAHigherPlaneOfExistence, succumbed to decadence or were wiped out by [[{{Gotterdammerung}} a disaster or war]], or maybe they just relocated ''en masse'' to ''somewhere else'' where they haven't been found yet.

to:

Predecessors now leave behind nothing but [[AdvancedAncientAcropolis tantalizing ruins]] and rare, sometimes incomprehensible [[LostTechnology artifacts]] and [[PointlessDoomsdayDevice dangerous weapons]]. (Any of the aforementioned sorts of relics may be a BigDumbObject.) Just why, no one knows. Perhaps they AscendedToAHigherPlaneOfExistence, succumbed to decadence or decadence, were wiped out by [[{{Gotterdammerung}} a disaster or war]], or maybe they just relocated ''en masse'' to ''somewhere else'' where they haven't been found yet.

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Merged per TRS


* In ''Webcomic/JackDavidHopkins'', a FurryWebcomic, the furries that currently live on Earth are the descendants of furries created in a lab by humans, making humans the Precursors. They were wiped out in a war started by the first furry, Jack. The furry version of the United States government knows about furrykind's origins, and is (probably wisely) [[GovernmentConspiracy keeping it a secret]].

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* In ''Webcomic/JackDavidHopkins'', a FurryWebcomic, UsefulNotes/{{Furry|Fandom}} Webcomic, the furries that currently live on Earth are the descendants of furries created in a lab by humans, making humans the Precursors. They were wiped out in a war started by the first furry, Jack. The furry version of the United States government knows about furrykind's origins, and is (probably wisely) [[GovernmentConspiracy keeping it a secret]].
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* In ''WesternAnimation/StarcomTheUSSpaceforce'', Mars was once inhabited by an advanced alien race called the Builders. The Builders are long gone by the time humans colonized the solar system, but they left behind ancient cities buried under the Martian dunes—cities which are still functional, and not entirely abandoned.

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* In ''WesternAnimation/StarcomTheUSSpaceforce'', Mars was once inhabited by an advanced alien race called the Builders. The Builders are long gone by the time humans colonized the solar system, but they left behind ancient cities buried under the Martian dunes—cities dunes -- cities which are still functional, and not entirely abandoned.
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* In ''WesternAnimation/StarComTheUSSpaceForce'', Mars was once inhabited by an advanced alien race called the Builders. The Builders are long gone by the time humans colonized the solar system, but they left behind ancient cities buried under the Martian dunes—cities which are still functional, and not entirely abandoned.

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* In ''WesternAnimation/StarComTheUSSpaceForce'', ''WesternAnimation/StarcomTheUSSpaceforce'', Mars was once inhabited by an advanced alien race called the Builders. The Builders are long gone by the time humans colonized the solar system, but they left behind ancient cities buried under the Martian dunes—cities which are still functional, and not entirely abandoned.
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Crosswicking.




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* ''Fanfic/KaijuRevolution'': There have been two advanced sapient races present on Earth before modern man. The first were the sophont pterosaurs known as the Mahars who arose during the Mesozoic and would eventually become so advanced that they could create immortal, artificial bodies and give themselves telepathy. The second was a Paleolithic hominid civilization known as the Paleoarchs who developed technology that surpasses anything made in the modern day. However, both civilizations would collapse when they tried to control Earth's kaiju or make their own. The surviving Mahars would be forced to hide in their Antarctic stronghold of Pellucidar, while the Paleoarchs were fractured into different groups that evolved into various races, including ''Homo sapians''.
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Gargoyles are the first race.


* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'', the First Race, while never directly referred to in the show, has been revealed by Greg Weisman to have preceded the Three Races.

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* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'', the First Lost Race, while never directly referred to in the show, has been revealed by Greg Weisman to have preceded the Three Races.
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* This is also a favorite theme with UsefulNotes/ConspiracyTheories, where the role of the Precursors is filled by ancient, vanished technological empires like Atlantis or Lemuria, or [[AncientAstronauts by alien visitors who founded humanity's ancient civilisations]].

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* This is also a favorite theme with UsefulNotes/ConspiracyTheories, of conspiracy theories, where the role of the Precursors is filled by ancient, vanished technological empires like Atlantis or Lemuria, or [[AncientAstronauts by alien visitors who founded humanity's ancient civilisations]].
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** The Ancient Humanoids in ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', though it seems to be a given in the ExpandedUniverse that the Ancient Humanoids are the Preservers.

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** The Ancient Humanoids in ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS6E18TheChase The Chase]]", though it seems to be a given in the ExpandedUniverse that the Ancient Humanoids are the Preservers.
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-->-- '''Music/{{Rush|Band}}''', [[Music/TwentyOneTwelve "2112"]]

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-->-- '''Music/{{Rush|Band}}''', [[Music/TwentyOneTwelve "2112"]]
''[[Music/TwentyOneTwelve 2112]]''
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-->-- '''Music/{{Rush|Band}}''', "2112"

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-->-- '''Music/{{Rush|Band}}''', "2112"
[[Music/TwentyOneTwelve "2112"]]
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page moved


* ''Webcomic/DriveDaveKellet'': The Sill were the most advanced race the galaxy has ever known and the only one to ever reach a type 2 Kardashev civilization. They ruled the galaxy for over 20,000 years undisputed, they played crucial roles in the history of almost every species they encountered and their technology reached levels that modern societies can barely dream of. All that's left of them now are some impressive ruins and some slowly dying monks.

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* ''Webcomic/DriveDaveKellet'': ''Webcomic/DriveDaveKellett'': The Sill were the most advanced race the galaxy has ever known and the only one to ever reach a type 2 Kardashev civilization. They ruled the galaxy for over 20,000 years undisputed, they played crucial roles in the history of almost every species they encountered and their technology reached levels that modern societies can barely dream of. All that's left of them now are some impressive ruins and some slowly dying monks.
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* During the Bronze Age, on the Mediterranean island of Crete and in the Aegean islands, flourished the mysterious Minoan Civilization [[note]]This is the name given to them by archeologists in the 19th century, based on the mythical King Minos of Crete in [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Greek Mythology]]. Whatever name the Minoans had for themselves is unknown as of now.[[/note]]. As early as 2000 BCE they had complex and organized cities with features like freshwater aqueducts and ''sewer systems'', with their cities being centered around impressive palace structures (that were more likely ''warehouses'' rather than government centers or military bases). Their writing system ("Linear A") is still untranslated, but the alphabet was adopted and modified by the Mycenaeans [[note]]A beta version of Greeks, from the Bronze Age[[/note]] who's alphabet (called "Linear B") is understood and is the earliest form of written Greek. Their influence (in the form of architecture, technology, art, trade goods, etc...) is felt all throughout the Bronze Age Mediterranean, but especially in Greece. It's not entirely clear why they declined, but the most popular hypothesis is that a volcanic eruption on the island of Santorini in 1600 BCE destroyed one of their major settlements and the repercussions were felt on Crete, which was subsequently conquered by Mycenaeans.

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