Homeworld Despite being an advanced, industrialized society, the Ancients seemed to have a preference for stone structures enriched with Naquadah for strength while in the Milky Way galaxy. Naquadah enriched stone (or just Naquadah for the Stargates), it seems, is their preferred storage because of its ability to stay intact for millions of years while paper would degrade and anything tech based would require a power source that would eventually become depleted. In Atlantis, the letters and numbers of the Alteran alphabet appear both upright and upside down and variate in direction. They named at least some of their planets according to these symbols. After beginning this process, the Ancients initially planned to wait until the ship reached a sufficient distance from Earth to board it. Species However, the Ancients did little to nothing to stop members of their race from acting to help as long as they didn't do it directly as an Ascended being: the Ancients allowed Orlin to descend to explain everything to the Tau'ri and help develop a cure for the Prior plague, they allowed Morgan to subtly inform Daniel and Vala of where to start looking for the Sangraal, Merlin's anti-Ori weapon and didn't interfere when she revealed herself until she tried to tell them exactly where to look and despite the fact that the Sangraal was being built with Merlin's advanced knowledge and had the risk of falling into Adria's hands and being used against them, they let Daniel and SG-1 finish and ultimately deploy it. Ancient Council (mortal)The Others (ascended) Ancient Eventually Merlin completed his weapon, but Morgan destroyed it as ordered by the other Ancients. Several people at Stargate Command were successful in understanding written and spoken Alteran. --Aurora 14:49, 21 April 2006 (PDT) Other people who are fluent in the language or at least understand it at a reasonable level are Jonas Quinn, Dr. Rodney McKay, Dr. Elizabeth Weir, Colonel Samantha Carter, Colonel Harold Maybourne, Dr. Nicholas Rush, Eli Wallace, Dr. Adam Brody, Dr. Dale Volker, Dr. Lisa Park, Dr. Amanda Perry, Dr. Lindsay and several other. That chair thing again. This is likely an error in production - telling the correct way up is difficult if you don't know the language. Astria Porta written in the Ancient alphabet. First appearance Daniel Jackson's knowledge of the written Ancient language came from his experience hearing Jack O'Neill speak the language for a short time (2.16 "The Fifth Race"). Clementiam habe. The Stargates had their symbols engraved on them, and spin when dialing. Out of universe information It is likely that just before an Ancient reaches ascension, this is the final evolutionary state. Mailbag! They also built many Astria Porta, developed Zero Point Modules, and established colonies on many of the planets of the Milky Way, most notably Terra, Proclarush, Taonas, Vis Uban, P3R-272 and Heliopolis. Given its predecessor technology as the Master Code on Destiny—a numeric sequence based on the 46 chromosomes that Ancients and humans share—it's likely that the ATA gene is based on something naturally occurring within their genetic code. One suggestion for this is that, when compared with the Ancient technology in the Milky Way, the ancient structures in Pegasus are relatively new. Later, Jonas Quinn used Daniel Jackson's notes to interpret a stone tablet as saying "City of the Lost" (7.01 "Fallen"). They blocked entry to the weapon of Dakara by creating a combination lock (9.17 "Reckoning Part 2"). Last days of Atlantis! After Jack O'Neill had the Ancient Repository of Knowledge downloaded into his head a second time, it was revealed that the Stargate Glyphs were pronounced as syllables by the Ancients (7.22 "Lost City Part 2"). O'Neill and Teal'c may understand some Alteran as they were forced to learn and memorize it when they were stuck in a 10-hour time loop for several months (SG1: "Window of Opportunity"). https://stargate.fandom.com/wiki/Ancient?oldid=407299. At some point during this time they also formed an alliance with the Asgard, Nox and the Furlings becoming a superpower within the galaxy. He found a subtle difference when using Asgard translations of early Ancient. Upon returning to the Milky Way, they constructed in a stone appearance again. Destiny is a ship in the Ancient fleet, which was constructed and launched around sixty million years ago from Earth. Either way, the Ori were destroyed, but Adria took their position and power when she Ascended and the Ancients were forced to keep her from continuing her work in the Milky Way as an Ascended being. Also, on two occasions, Lt. General Jack O'Neill was able to speak it after having the entire knowledge base of the Alterans downloaded into his mind through the Repository of knowledge; each time, the Asgard erased it to save his life (SG1, "The Fifth Race", "Lost City, Part 1", "Lost City, Part 2", "New Order, Part 2"). Remnants of their civilization were scattered throughout the galaxy, recognized by the writing still carved in the stone ruins. It is not known why this was, however it seems that any other source of technology would have proven useless because they would also have to be on the same level of tech to even extract that information. https://stargate.fandom.com/wiki/Ancient_language?oldid=377655, NN (unknown in Alteran; only known in English as "Alteran"), deductus (m), -a (f), -um (n), deducatus (m), -a (f), -um (n), finit (v; "he/she/it is finished/done"), facit (v; "he/she/it does"), The Land of the Young or The Land of Young. Some types of Ancient technology can also create this state in an unevolved human without ascending them. Daniel Jackson The Ancients, also known as the Gate Builders or Anquietas in their language, were those Alterans who left their home galaxy for the Milky Way galaxy and seeded it with life. They are one of the most advanced races known to have existed, having evolved for millions of years prior to the present day and reaching their level of technology long before humanity evolved on Earth. "Amacuse" is similar to the Latin root for friend(s) amicus, but fans who are Latin scholars note that the translation could also be indicative of loved one(s) (and the singular versus plural is also contested). Eventually the Ancient Merlin would deascend himself after coming to believe that the Ori were a threat that needed to be destroyed. Eventually, due to the actions of Doctor Daniel Jackson and Vala Mal Doran, the Ancient's old enemy the Ori became aware of the existence of human life in the Milky Way Galaxy and began a crusade to convert all humans in the galaxy to Origin in order to gain more power with the intention to confront the Ancients in battle and destroy them. The Ancients were unable to restart their empire, so many Ancients bred with the native humans to set a path for the future and create future civilizations, while others went on and ascended. "The original creators of the Stargate." It is likely that they began to use that name after their return to the Milky Way when they would have been ancient compared to the relatively young species of Humans who had populated Earth. Towards the end of their evolutionary development, but still before they ascended, they also developed various advanced mental powers including extraordinary sensory abilities, the ability to heal others with a touch, partial Telepathy, and powerful Telekinesis. The alphabet and numeral system used by the Alterans have interesting and special appearances: the symbols consist of squarish dots, and as a "full symbol" there are 24 squares with 8 on each diagonal row, except the letter k. Just like the Latin alphabet in English, the Alteran alphabet has all of its letters, while both f and u have the same symbol. Oma Desala was an outcast for her efforts in helping others to ascend, and she was forced to watch Anubis use his knowledge to conquer the Milky Way. Similarly, Chaya Sar was sentenced to protect only the people of Proculus when she destroyed a Wraith fleet over the planet. There were also two instances of a large monument with an enthroned figure housing advanced technology, such as the Repository of knowledge and the Dakara superweapon. (SG1: "Ascension", "Full Circle", "Threads") (SGA: "Sanctuary"), There is a real, physical transfer of energy to the Ori that occurs through a human being's worship of them. An example of this being that the latest weapons technologies employed by the Asgard science vessel The Daniel-Jackson was ineffective when compared to the advanced shields employed by the Goa'uld Anubis. With the arrival of a Tau'ri expedition in 2009, Destiny got its first crew. Knowledge and enlightenment were fundamental to their world view. (SGA: "Hide and Seek"), The Wraith language is derived from Alteran. (SG1: "Frozen", "Lost City, Part 2", "Avalon, Part 1", "The Quest, Part 2") (SGA: "Rising", "Hide and Seek", "Epiphany", "Tao of Rodney"). The written language is made up of block-like symbols and sharp edged patterns, almost like a computer code. Language Ancient language or Alteran language are the names given to the language spoken and written by the Alterans that consist of two factions: The Ancients/The Ancestors/Lanteans and the Ori. Despite them not making many advancements in weapons or shielding technologies, the Ancients were still among the most powerful of races in the milky way. This form of architecture was continued during their existence in the Pegasus Galaxy. Most of the Ancients have ascended to a higher plane of existence with near infinite knowledge and powerful abilities. In comparison, the Drone weapons were able to decimate Anubis' entire fleet, despite being thousands of years older than the Asgard weapon. Jacob and Samantha Carter discovered this code when translating the symbols. Letters that can be turned into another while upside down are j and r. (SG1: "Reckoning, Part 2"). The Ancients' numbers were too few, and they were ultimately forced to hide their ways. Ancients or The Ancients, also known as Ancestors/The Ancestors, Lanteans, and Gate Builders, or Anquietas in their language, were those Alterans who left their home galaxy for the Milky Way and seeded it with life. (SG1: "The Fourth Horseman, Part 1", "The Ark of Truth"), Retaining their beliefs in free will as well as rules of non-interference, the highest law of the Ascended Ancients is the following: Daniel successfully translated the word to mean "reflect" from Cameron's description (9.02 "Avalon Part 2"). Daniel Jackson using the power of the descended Ancient Merlin, Healing power of near ascended beings at work. They attempted to travel back in time, to stop the plague from spreading, but their efforts were unsuccessful. "The Torment of Tantalus" (language first shown)"The Fifth Race" (first mentioned)"Maternal Instinct" (first appearance). His theory was that it was a derivation, or possibly a root of medieval Latin (2.16 "The Fifth Race", 7.15 "Chimera"). After their desperate departure from Atlantis 10,000 years ago, the Ancients returned to Earth. Note: the Alteran/Ancient language and Ori language were recognized as similar, if not identical by Daniel Jackson, so Ori phrases are included in this dictionary. Big "N" and "sad face.". On top of this, the long term dependence upon such power leads to vulnerability when and if those worshipers are removed, as was demonstrated when the Ark of Truth was revealed. Chair with a square. However it is unclear how much if any of the language they retained from that experience. (SG1: "Avalon, Part 2", "Origin", "The Fourth Horseman, Part 1", "The Ark of Truth"), After many thousands of years (175+ million years ago[1]) the Ancients discovered the Milky Way, and first colonized the planets Dakara and Terra, which would later be known as Earth. (2.16 "Fifth Race"). They are best known as the builders of the Stargates, Atlantis, and Destiny. Daniel was able to translate the Ancient term fallatus as "ability" based upon its similarity to the Latin term faculatus and the term lochus as similar to locatia, Latin for "location" (2.16 "The Fifth Race"). Ancient Though they considered using their knowledge to defend themselves, they faced a war of attrition, one they ultimately believed that they could not win. To protect his computer systems, Anubis used elaborate ciphers coded in the oldest known Alteran dialect. To avoid genocide, the Ancients built a ship and left their galaxy, while the Ori remained. A split then occurred among the Alterans, dividing them into two factions: the Ancients (who still called themselves the Alterans), who were more secular and science-oriented, and the Ori, who became more religious. SG-1 theorized that they did this either as they knew it would work and wanted it to, or knew it wouldn't and thus didn't care while Adria believed that they did it as they knew it would successfully wipe out the Ori and wanted them gone. From (SG1: "Reckoning, Part 2"), it's clear that Ancient text upside-down would be recognized by the Ancients and would be fixed, hinting that it is simply a goof. Fathers of light of the everlasting temple. Before Jack read the symbols of the circle and the Heliopolis text aloud, Daniel was unable to even associate sounds with the symbols. (SGA: "The Gift"), Words upside down can have different meanings. (SG1: "Fallen"), Some of the Athosians have displayed knowledge of Alteran, and some give prayers in Alteran. --thanks to maranya14 for added Latin translations, Altera: The Ancients as Advanced Humans in Their Home Galaxy, Complete Timeline of the Ancients (50 Million Years Ago to Present), Lantian Period: 10 Thousand to 5 to 10 Million Years Ago, Legacy Period: 2 to 10 Thousand Years Ago, http://stargate-sg1-solutions.com/blog/?p=209, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/resolveform?lang=Latin, http://www.stargate-sg1-solutions.com/w/index.php?title=Ancient_Language&oldid=24672, This page was last edited 13:08, 27 February 2009 by StargateWiki user. As Daniel pointed out while Jack was still under the influence of the Ancient Repository: "The language he's speaking has similar sounds to medieval Latin but it's still quite different." They were also known for writing information on stone tablets. The Ancients are well known for their belief in free will and will go to great lengths to ensure that others are allowed to make their own decisions without outside interference. Noted for its massive redundancies and the extensive use of Control crystals, Ancient technology is remarkably similar, in both appearance and function, to that of the Ori, as they both once lived together as one society: the Alterans. In order to avoid inciting the Ancients directly until they were ready, the Ori sent their Priors and human followers to do their work of conversion, even managing to impregnate Vala Mal Doran to give birth to an Ori in human form named Adria to lead their armies as Adria was human at the time. The language was given to Earth humans in the past where it eventually evolved into Latin. Quando eam vides, caelum vides, et illis in Tellure facies ad stellas tollendae sunt. Distinctions (SG1: "The Torment of Tantalus", "The Fifth Race", "Window of Opportunity", "Frozen", "Full Circle", "Lost City, Part 2", "Avalon, Part 1", "The Powers That Be") (SGA: "Rising"). Status On another occasion, Dr. Jackson and Malikai, both experts on the Ancient language, discussed a translation of an Ancient device, disputing its meaning based upon the context (4.06 "Window of Opportunity"). Alliances Ancient technology is also the most resilient ever seen, remaining intact for millions of years without even minor signs of deterioration or decrease in performance. Form of government None (present)Ori (as the Alterans)Alliance of Four Great Races (past) Because of this, Destiny has continued on a pre-programmed path on its journey throughout the stars, alone, for millions of years. This is one of the main reasons the Ancients have so strongly believed in strict non-interference in the lower planes, because the temptation to manipulate and align lower life forms in some order for your own purposes could result in this type of abusive corruption, as they see it. The Ancients believed in science, reason, and logic. Societal information (SG1: "The Torment of Tantalus", "The Fifth Race", "Fallen", "Lost City, Part 1", "Lost City, Part 2", "The Drift", "Avalon, Part 2", "Origin", "The Ark of Truth"), Approximately five to ten million years ago, a virulent plague nearly wiped out the Ancients. By the time they ascended, the Ancients had gathered more knowledge than any other known race. However, because of other endeavors, such as Ascension, they never followed through on the plan. The Alterans, later known as the Ancients, settled in the Milky Way Galaxy and built the Stargate system (2.16 "The Fifth Race"). (SG1: "The Fifth Race", "Full Circle", "Fallen", "Avalon, Part 1", SGA: "Hide and Seek", "The Gift", SGU: "Air, Part 1", "Darkness"). Classical Latin did not have j and w, but came later and can be used for names. Of all their technological creations the Stargates, Destiny, and Atlantis are their most famous, but they have developed devices as diverse and complicated as flying cities, advanced healing devices, beaming technology, zero-point power sources, Long-range communication devices, seek-and-destroy projectiles and even genetic manipulation devices. More on the various translations and knowledge gleaned from Ancient writings may be found in our sister article on Ancient Writings. Verily, the corrupted sinner will be cleansed from within. (SG1: "Fallen", "Prototype"), The Asgard have a significant understanding of Alteran, and have provided some translations of early Alteran to the SGC. Despite this, the threat to them had been mostly removed but at least Morgan, who had been exiled for her actions but not forced to return to human form, believed that the humans of the Milky Way deserved the Ancients help with dealing with the Ori followers as killing the Ori had saved the Ancients and began acting to lead SG-1 to the Ark of Truth, a device capable of brainwashing anyone exposed to it to whatever truth is programmed in, in this case that the Ori aren't gods. Upon their return, the Ancients found Humans in the hunter-gatherer stage of evolution. Eventually, many of the Ancients became able to separate from their physical bodies and live eternally as pure energy on a higher plane of existence with an infinitely increased capacity for knowledge, wisdom and unfathomable power including the ability to destroy entire armies and space fleets with a mere thought. Some of the Ancients ascended to a higher state of existence (6.22 "Full Circle). The only times the ATA gene is required for continuous use is in important and potentially dangerous pieces of technology, such as the Control chair. The earliest outposts are thought to be established between one hundred seventy-five million and fifty million years ago, around when they also built the Destiny and Seed ships to travel through the Universe. Perhaps the most famous technology from this era (10-60 million years ago) is the Destiny. Atlantis, one of a fleet of City-ships built by the Ancients. (SG1: "The Fourth Horseman, Part 1", "The Pegasus Project", "The Ark of Truth"). This series of articles covers the history, language, writings, knowledge, and technology of the Ancients. Even now, that knowledge is far superior to that of the Tau'ri, the Goa'uld, and the Wraith. When Cameron Mitchell and Teal'c were trapped in a lethal puzzle, Mitchell yelled the following description of an Ancient word (pictured above) to Daniel Jackson for translation: Uh, "U" with a square over it. While this has lead to what might be considered draconian or cruel punishments to those who violate this rule, it stems from their fierce belief in free will, and that to use their powers in such a way would make them no better than the Ori. (SGA: "The Return, Part 1", "The Return, Part 2") (SGU: "Back to Destiny 1"). Since then, not only he, but several linguists associated with the SGC have learned to read the language, with various levels of competence, including those on the Atlantis expedition, since the technology in Atlantis is obviously written in Ancient (Stargate Atlantis). The language was given to Earth humans in the past where it eventually evolved into Latin. The result was a weakened ascended being, while still powerful was significantly weaker than the ascended being who never depended upon worshipers to begin with. They both eventually ascended, but their paths continued to differ. This has been to their detriment, however, as it has been that very belief in free will that forces them to respect the rights of the Ori in believing their fanaticism. As their brains further evolved, their intelligence and capacity to store knowledge greatly increased, allowing them to develop some of the most advanced technology encountered thus far. Orlin was also outcast when he used his powers to help the people of Velona to construct an Orbital weapon to protect themselves, but then intended to use the weapon against other races. ATA geneHeightened intellectAdvanced mental abilities (mortal)Energy-based lifeform (ascended) Eventually, the Ori became so extreme in their beliefs that they tried to wipe out the Ancients. In such cases, once active anyone can use the technology, regardless of whether or not they possess the gene. When you see her, you see the sky, and those on earth must lift their faces toward the stars. Most of their weapons technology was designed and used during their centuries-long war with the Wraith in the Pegasus Galaxy, however after returning to the Milky Way the Ancients had no further need for either more powerful weapons or defensive shields (as their only potential enemies were the far inferior Goa'uld), so they became somewhat lacking when compared to their other technological marvels created during this time. They believed that the universe was to be studied, and that scientific experimentation was essential to gaining understanding. Despite the Goa'uld's long known history of acquiring Alteran relics, the Tok'ra were unable to translate them. It is still unknown if the gene was naturally occurring within the Ancients' physiology, or the result of genetic manipulation. At the XXIIth century, the only corporeal known Ancients were the crewmembers of the warship Tria, which were slaughtered by the Asurans soon after their return to Atlantis, and a little group, Vasi's Team, trapped on board the Destiny. Both languages are little similar to each other. Once Daniel Jackson was able to hear it spoken, he had a baseline from which to translate the symbols into the derivative and subsequently to English. It is not known if they referred to themselves as Ancients while they were living on Earth several million years ago. Even their technology appeared stone like. With the efforts of Morgan and SG-1, the Ori followers learned the truth about their "gods" and Adria's power was diminished to the point that Morgan was able to engage her in eternal battle and end the threat of the Ori and their threat to the Ancients once and for all. However, starting from at least 30 million years ago (according to the star map on Proclarush Taonas), the Ancients turned to a metallic-looking architecture, displayed in the city-ship Atlantis. Hundreds of millions of years ago, the Alterans, the first evolution of humanity in four galaxies, lived together as one society on an evolutionary path to Ascension in the Alteran Home Galaxy. Only someone familiar with the Ancient tongue could correctly interpret the combination. Dr. Daniel Jackson was the one who unlocked the mysteries of the language, so that more could learn it, and gained an innate understanding after his Ascension and subsequent decension. They also believed that they did not have the right to restrict the freedom of the followers of Origin to believe in the Ori by "brainwashing" the true nature of the Ori into their followers for much the same reasons. As Daniel pointed out while Jack was still under the influence of the Ancient Repository: "The language he's speaking has similar sounds to medieval Latin but it's still quite different." Ancient does not seem to be directly equivalent to Latin. Over the tens of millions of years of their existence, the Ancients gradually evolved to become much more advanced than baseline humans, and the neurological makeup of the Ancients was much more complex than that of the average human. Unable to cure it, the surviving Ancients left Earth in a huge space-borne city, which they named Atlantis, on course for the Pegasus galaxy. "Do not accelerate the natural ascension process of those beneath or interfere in their natural life, and ultimately, death.