The purpose of this thread is to open up a discussion about the Ancient-Human-Earth debate. All views are welcome.
My theory:
Many of you believe/think that the Ancients are not really human and evolved on another planet, perhaps even in a different Galaxy. I disagree with both assertions and believe the following to be true based on basic principles of evolutionary biology (not that I'm an expert in this area, but have done enough research and am studying it in college):
1) The Ancients evolved on Earth millions of years ago, but after the fall of the dinosaurs. Don't ask me exact dates, but this is possible given the times. We're talking maybe 70-100 million years ago maybe, but not sure exactly.
2) The Ancients developed and progressed at an incredible rate and finally invented FTL travel, found naquadah, and set up the gate network. You know the rest - blah, blah, blah.
3) The Ancients are human beings in every way; the only difference between an Ancient human and a modern day human (Tau'ri, Tollan, Aschen, whatever) is that the Ancients had greater mental abilities and some biochemical and neurotransmitters were different (see "Frozen" in Season 6). Dr. Frasier said that Ayiana was human in almost every way except for some neurotransmitters and biochemical differences, other than that, she was just as human as any one of us.
WHY THE ANCIENTS HAD TO HAVE EVOLVED ON EARTH:
If you subscribe to the evolutionary model of human existence, you accept the basic principle that lower life progresses, through the process of natural selection (survival of the fittest), adaptation, and mutation, into more advanced life. All life on Earth "fits" together into a common pattern and form. Fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals all have similar organ systems, skeletal systems, blood, circulatory systems, and feeding patterns. Some animals have 2 and 3 chambered hearts, while others have 4 chambered hearts. The differences can SEEM vast, but when you think about it, many animals have more in common than not.
Parallel evolution on a different planet is quite a leap. It's possible that the Ancients evolved on a different planet and came to Earth, but if that were true, what would that mean? That would mean that we, as the descendants of the Ancients, would be totally unlike any other Earth animal. In other words, structurally or biochemically, we would be vastly different from dogs, cats, bears, birds, cows, etc. But we're not. Your dog and cat have the same basic blood as you: it's a red, iron-based blood with hemoglobin carrying red blood cells and infection fighting white blood cells. You have two kidneys, that produce uric-acid based waste, so does your cat -- so does a cow, so does the deer in your backyard, the bird in the tree behind your house, and the rat swimming in the sewers underground.
Earth-based biology has commonality. All vertebrates on Earth, for example, share common morphological and structural elements. We all have thick, protective skulls; we all have a spinal column with (cervical, thoracic, lumbar, and sacral vertebrae -- some have tails, while humans have vestigial tails (coccyx); we all have a shoulder and pelvic girdle that connects our limbs; and we all have similar limbs. In fish, the limbs are fins; in birds they are wings; in whales and seals they are flippers; in snakes they are atrophied and very small, but still there. Your hand is the equivalent of a fish's fin and a bird's wing.
These traits are common. If you evolved on a different planet, nature might favor a bipedal form that is functionally superior over other forms, but there would be evolutionary differences. For example, the number of ribs, the structure of the backbone and vertebrae, the arrangement of metacarpal and metatarsal bones, the arrangement of the jaws and sutures of the skull, etc.
If you evolved on another planet, your blood might be copper based or aluminum based. You might require more nitrogen than oxygen, or you might be able to process more carbon dioxide/monoxide. Your biochemistry would be completely different. In short, if the Ancients evolved on Planet X and only came to Earth to colonize, they would be different in some way from all other Earth life.
In the SG universe, the humans found on other worlds are probably different from native animals. Remember in the Stargate movie where Daniel is eating that weird animal? He says it tastes like chicken? Or that weird buffalo thing that he fed chocolate too? Those animals are clearly not animals found on Earth. I mean, they seemed mammalian, but they were alien animals. If you dissected them, I would be that you would see a different anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry.
POSSIBLE EXCEPTIONS:
The ancients were smart dudes, so it's possible that they transplanted animals native to their homeworld to Earth, but this would be a big Noah's Ark kinda deal. It's also possible that they altered the life on Earth to accomodate their biology.
In any case, I think the Ancients are advanced Humans with superior abilities. I think they evolved on Earth, left the Earth, and came back to the Earth. Their descendants became modern humans, some who possess the gene of the Ancients tech, while others don't.
That's my long-winded theory. Do you guys still think I'm wrong?
My theory:
Many of you believe/think that the Ancients are not really human and evolved on another planet, perhaps even in a different Galaxy. I disagree with both assertions and believe the following to be true based on basic principles of evolutionary biology (not that I'm an expert in this area, but have done enough research and am studying it in college):
1) The Ancients evolved on Earth millions of years ago, but after the fall of the dinosaurs. Don't ask me exact dates, but this is possible given the times. We're talking maybe 70-100 million years ago maybe, but not sure exactly.
2) The Ancients developed and progressed at an incredible rate and finally invented FTL travel, found naquadah, and set up the gate network. You know the rest - blah, blah, blah.
3) The Ancients are human beings in every way; the only difference between an Ancient human and a modern day human (Tau'ri, Tollan, Aschen, whatever) is that the Ancients had greater mental abilities and some biochemical and neurotransmitters were different (see "Frozen" in Season 6). Dr. Frasier said that Ayiana was human in almost every way except for some neurotransmitters and biochemical differences, other than that, she was just as human as any one of us.
WHY THE ANCIENTS HAD TO HAVE EVOLVED ON EARTH:
If you subscribe to the evolutionary model of human existence, you accept the basic principle that lower life progresses, through the process of natural selection (survival of the fittest), adaptation, and mutation, into more advanced life. All life on Earth "fits" together into a common pattern and form. Fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals all have similar organ systems, skeletal systems, blood, circulatory systems, and feeding patterns. Some animals have 2 and 3 chambered hearts, while others have 4 chambered hearts. The differences can SEEM vast, but when you think about it, many animals have more in common than not.
Parallel evolution on a different planet is quite a leap. It's possible that the Ancients evolved on a different planet and came to Earth, but if that were true, what would that mean? That would mean that we, as the descendants of the Ancients, would be totally unlike any other Earth animal. In other words, structurally or biochemically, we would be vastly different from dogs, cats, bears, birds, cows, etc. But we're not. Your dog and cat have the same basic blood as you: it's a red, iron-based blood with hemoglobin carrying red blood cells and infection fighting white blood cells. You have two kidneys, that produce uric-acid based waste, so does your cat -- so does a cow, so does the deer in your backyard, the bird in the tree behind your house, and the rat swimming in the sewers underground.
Earth-based biology has commonality. All vertebrates on Earth, for example, share common morphological and structural elements. We all have thick, protective skulls; we all have a spinal column with (cervical, thoracic, lumbar, and sacral vertebrae -- some have tails, while humans have vestigial tails (coccyx); we all have a shoulder and pelvic girdle that connects our limbs; and we all have similar limbs. In fish, the limbs are fins; in birds they are wings; in whales and seals they are flippers; in snakes they are atrophied and very small, but still there. Your hand is the equivalent of a fish's fin and a bird's wing.
These traits are common. If you evolved on a different planet, nature might favor a bipedal form that is functionally superior over other forms, but there would be evolutionary differences. For example, the number of ribs, the structure of the backbone and vertebrae, the arrangement of metacarpal and metatarsal bones, the arrangement of the jaws and sutures of the skull, etc.
If you evolved on another planet, your blood might be copper based or aluminum based. You might require more nitrogen than oxygen, or you might be able to process more carbon dioxide/monoxide. Your biochemistry would be completely different. In short, if the Ancients evolved on Planet X and only came to Earth to colonize, they would be different in some way from all other Earth life.
In the SG universe, the humans found on other worlds are probably different from native animals. Remember in the Stargate movie where Daniel is eating that weird animal? He says it tastes like chicken? Or that weird buffalo thing that he fed chocolate too? Those animals are clearly not animals found on Earth. I mean, they seemed mammalian, but they were alien animals. If you dissected them, I would be that you would see a different anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry.
POSSIBLE EXCEPTIONS:
The ancients were smart dudes, so it's possible that they transplanted animals native to their homeworld to Earth, but this would be a big Noah's Ark kinda deal. It's also possible that they altered the life on Earth to accomodate their biology.
In any case, I think the Ancients are advanced Humans with superior abilities. I think they evolved on Earth, left the Earth, and came back to the Earth. Their descendants became modern humans, some who possess the gene of the Ancients tech, while others don't.
That's my long-winded theory. Do you guys still think I'm wrong?
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