The Twelve Tribes of Humankind, and their relationship to the known paleontological record.
12. The Twelfth – The first race created by The Ancestors; and probably the cleverest of all; but not well suited to living in the ancient world of planet earth. Their propensity for
living hundreds of years and having few children was at odds with the harsh climate, living conditions, predators, and immediate survival. They were presumed extinct. We know them as The Giants, because they were very tall.
11. The Eleventh are known to us from myths and legends as the Elves. Because of their few numbers and burial traditions on Elvenholme, their remains are unlikely to be found in the
fossil records.
10. The Tenth, a large and hardy race well suited to their surroundings on earth, but given to extreme hostility, even amongst their own kind. They almost wiped themselves out during
a Warlord battle for supremacy. From legend we know them as The Ogres, and they created a race of slaves to do their bidding, that are called Trolls.
The three races above were created directly by the Ancestors, but after their mistakes with the Tenth, they worked on cross-gene manipulation, basing their work on the existing earthly hominina homo
sapien ergaster.
Note:
Hominina include all the family homo sapien, which is the correct title, followed by the descriptor. We normally omit the middle word sapien when referring to any species. Modern humans are correctly refereed to as homo sapien sapien.
9. The Ninth, homo sapien antecessor - a secretive and distrusting people, often living in trees
or caves. Presumed extinct at the hands of The Tenth, but they are known to the Eighth.
8. The Eighth, homo sapien heidelbergensis - The Eleventh heard rumours some still survived,
but were a few thousand in number, scattered into small groups. They remained very difficult to contact because of their trials at the hands of The Tenth, and seldom trusted anybody but their own kind. From clues provided by the
Fourth and Sixth, Ælthrelntheine made contact, and over time they came to trust and occasionally trade with the Eleventh.
7. The Seventh, also called The Ddwyrth. From legend we know of them as The Dwarves; and from fossil records as Neanderthal, correctly homo
sapien neanderthalensis. They, along with the Eleventh, have a long history of standing together to protect the weaker Tribes, and are especially friendly with the Second.
6. The Sixth, Cro-Magnon or very early homo sapien sapien, contemporarily identified as European Early Modern Humans
(EEMH); a withdrawn race that do not tend to mix well with others. A few still survive and will trade with the Eleventh when it suits them, but mainly they prefer to be left alone. They are known by many names in modern society:
Bigfoot, Yeti, or Sésquac.
5. The Fifth, homo sapien rhodesiensis originated in Africa, but were presumed destroyed by the
inhospitable climate changes and homo sapien sapien between 50,000 and 30,000 years ago. Often found in the fossil record, but classified wrongly as proto-homo sapien or homo erectus because of their use of tools. They are discovered
by the Core, during one of Jack's mind-links.
4. The Fourth – homo sapien floresiensis, lived alongside homo sapiens between 100,000 and 12,000 years
ago, and last known on Flores Island in Indonesia. Thought to have become extinct with the Stegodon (Sort of elephant) when reports by local tribes and Portuguese explorers lead us to suspect they may have held out until the last
few hundred years. They were small (3’ 6” tall), thin and stooped race with stout legs.
They were found by Ælthrelntheine. Some have called them Leprechauns, due to their mischievous and playful aspect similar to that of ‘monkeys’.
3. The Third – their line descends to modern-day Maoris. This is the only race that was not created, but allowed to develop by intermarriage with several others, most notably ‘homo
sapien-sapien’. They are known as The Keepers of Ancient Knowledge, and the only race to still inhabit the world of the Last. Their cousins are Native American Indians of the entirety of the Americas, Australian Aborigines, and
others such as laps, Inuit, and Polynesians.
2. The Second who Jack lives with, known from the fossil record as homo sapien erectus, and directly related
to Maba Man discovered in Shaoguan, Guangdong province, China.
1. The Last or homo sapien sapien, the race of humankind as we know ourselves. Always referred to as ‘The Last’.
13. The Ancestors or First
We learn the Ancestors are the creators of modern humanity in all its forms; they are correctly called the First. Their history is one of development and destruction by outside forces.
They originated on a planet of Alpha Proxima, but fled when attacked by the Aleutian-Hallion Alliance, who to save time, turned their sun into a red dwarf. Some fled to other planets within the Alpha Centauri system, others seeking
destinations farther afield. The Ancestors of Star Gazer came to our solar system, creating their first home on planet Rhea; now the asteroid belt.
Rhea was also destroyed by the galactic megalomaniacs called the Aleutian-Hallion Alliance, a non-human force, but similar in many ways to the Ogres - and the Last. They presumed the destruction complete, but colonies still survived
on Mars; mainly mining communities and scientists. In those days Mars did have a little atmosphere and water, but habitation was underground, hence they were not detected.
Millions of years later, a gigantic meteor was discovered, destined to hit Mars. Many were confident technology would save them; shields and weapons. Oma was not so sure. She gathered a band together to flee, hoping to return once
the devastation was complete. She recruited Vela as First Officer; who was working on creating a spacecraft carrier with the power to destroy the threat; but it would not be ready in time. The rest is history—our history.
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