 | Warning! This page contains information regarding Star Trek: Discovery, and thus may contain spoilers. |
A pre-warp civilization was any society or culture that had not yet become a warp-capable civilization; that is, one that has not discovered and utilized faster-than-light spaceflight like the warp drive. Pre-warp cultures could range in technology level from extremely primitive, such as a pre-industrial society; to that of Earth in the mid-21st century, where spacecraft utilized sublight technology. (Star Trek Into Darkness; Star Trek: First Contact; TOS: "The Omega Glory")
The Federation sometimes used an industrial scale and a technological rating to assess pre-warp civilizations. For example, the natives of Sigma Draconis III had, as of 2268, an industrial scale rating of B – equivalent to Earth in 1485 – and a technological rating of 3. (TOS: "Spock's Brain") Another scale was Richter's scale of cultures, which might assign a rating of class D- to an agrarian culture. (TOS: "Errand of Mercy")
The Federation's Prime Directive interdicted any disturbance of such civilizations, including any form of contact, until a culture had independently proven its warp-capability. Otherwise, any involvement in the development of pre-warp societies could result in the contamination of their culture, thereby altering their natural evolution. Usually pre-warp civilizations were limited to their homeworld; however, their technical abilities could be sophisticated enough to expand throughout their star system or even beyond. (ENT: "Dear Doctor"; TOS: "Patterns of Force"; Star Trek: Insurrection)
The Federation did allow limited covert research to be conducted on pre-warp civilizations, usually by means of a duck blind. (TNG: "Who Watches The Watchers"; Star Trek: Insurrection) Observation teams could also be placed among a civilization as a prelude to first contact. (TNG: "First Contact")
In the 32nd century, the Emerald Chain crime syndicate was notorious for contacting pre-warp civilizations in distress, such as the Kwejian, and offering "assistance" in the form of predatory deals. Such civilizations usually collapsed as a result. (DIS: "The Sanctuary")
Pre-warp civilizations
| Species/Culture | Homeworld | Technology level | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 892-IV natives | 892-IV | 2267: Post-industrial, equivalent to Earth's mid-20th century. | TOS: "Bread and Circuses" | |
| Akaali | Akaali homeworld | 2151: Pre-industrial. | ENT: "Civilization" | |
| Allos' species | Allos' homeworld | 2374: Interplanetary; capable of synthesizing Omega molecules in enormous quantities. | This civilization was experiencing crucial resource shortages as of 2374. | VOY: "The Omega Directive" |
| Alpha Carinae II natives | Alpha Carinae II | TOS: "The Ultimate Computer" | ||
| Amerind inhabitants | Amerind | 2268: Pre-industrial, agrarian. | Amerind's inhabitants were Humans, specifically American Indians transplanted from Earth by the Preservers. | TOS: "The Paradise Syndrome" |
| Angel I natives | Angel I | 2364: Post-industrial. | In contact with aliens despite being pre-warp. | TNG: "Angel One" |
| Ba'ku | Ba'ku | 2375: Pre-industrial. | The Ba'ku were warp-capable as of 2375, and indeed were refugees from their original homeworld, but their culture rejected technology and willingly confined themselves to their planet. | Star Trek: Insurrection |
| Barkonians | Barkon IV | 2370: Pre-industrial. | TNG: "Thine Own Self" | |
| Betans | Beta III | 2267: Industrial. | TOS: "The Return of the Archons" | |
| Boraalans | Boraal II (original) Vacca VI (adopted) |
2370: Pre-industrial. | The Boraalan homeworld was sterilized by an atmospheric dissipation in 2370; the USS Enterprise-D transplanted the survivors to a new planet without their knowledge. | TNG: "Homeward" |
| Brekkians | Brekka | 2364: Interplanetary. | In contact with aliens despite being pre-warp. | TNG: "Symbiosis" |
| Capellans | Capella IV | 2267: Pre-industrial. | In contact with aliens despite being pre-warp. | TOS: "Friday's Child" |
| Delta Theta III aborigines | Delta Theta III | 2270: Pre-industrial. | TAS: "Bem" | |
| Dremans | Benev Selec (Drema IV) | 2365: Post-industrial. | TNG: "Pen Pals" | |
| Earth Two natives | Earth Two | 2266: Pre-industrial. | Earth Two was identical to Earth, but with a divergent history. A life prolongation project in the mid-20th century produced a virus that killed all adults ("Grups"), leaving long-lived children ("Onlies") as the only survivors. | TOS: "Miri" |
| Edo | Rubicun III | 2364: Post-industrial. | In contact with aliens despite being pre-warp. | TNG: "Justice" |
| Ekosians | Ekos | 2268: Interplanetary. | TOS: "Patterns of Force" | |
| Eminians | Eminiar VII | 2267: Post-industrial, possibly interplanetary. | TOS: "A Taste of Armageddon" | |
| Fabrini | Fabrini homeworld | 2268: Pre-industrial. | The Fabrini homeworld was destroyed by the Fabrina supernova millennia ago; their surviving civilization was confined to Yonada as of 2268. | TOS: "For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky" |
| Fantome's species | The Void | N/A | As of 2378 the species subsisted off of resources stolen from starships, and had no known organized civilization. | VOY: "The Void" |
| Gem's species | Gem's planet | TOS: "The Empath" | ||
| Genome colony | Moab IV | 2368: Post-industrial. | Genome was an isolated Human colony. | TNG: "The Masterpiece Society" |
| Gosis' species | Gosis' species homeworld | 2152: Post-industrial, equivalent to Earth's mid-20th century. | ENT: "The Communicator" | |
| Hanonians | Hanon IV | 2373: Pre-industrial, stone age. | VOY: "Basics, Part II" | |
| Iotians | Sigma Iotia II | 2268: Post-industrial, equivalent to Earth's early 20th century. | TOS: "A Piece of the Action" | |
| Kataan natives | Kataan | 14th century: Post-industrial. | Their sun went nova in the 14th century; the species was rendered extinct. | TNG: "The Inner Light" |
| Kelemane's species | Kelemane's planet | 2376: N/A | Due to the rapid passage of time on the planet (caused by to its tachyon core), this civilization advanced from pre-industrial to interplanetary in mere weeks (from an outside perspective) in 2376. | VOY: "Blink of an Eye" |
| Kelis' species | Kelis' homeworld | 2376: Industrial, bronze age. | VOY: "Muse" | |
| Kelpiens | Kaminar | 2257: Pre-industrial. | The Kelpiens shared their planet with the warp-capable Ba'ul. They became warp-capable in 2258. | ST: "The Brightest Star"; DIS: "The Sound of Thunder" |
| Kolarans | Kolarus III | 2379: Industrial, equivalent to Earth's mid-20th century. | Star Trek Nemesis | |
| Kwejian | Kwejian | 3189: Industrial. | The Kwejian were "uplifted" by the Emerald Chain following the Burn, with the Chain providing access to spaceflight while helping them deal with sea locusts. | DIS: "The Sanctuary" |
| Ligonians | Ligon II | 2374: Post-industrial. | In contact with aliens despite being pre-warp. | TNG: "Code of Honor" |
| Loque'eque | Loque'eque homeworld | Post-industrial, capable of engineering Mutagenic viruses. | The Loque'eque went extinct centuries prior to 2153. | ENT: "Extinction" |
| Makull's species | Makull's homeworld | 2371: Post-industrial. | VOY: "Time and Again" | |
| Malcorians | Malcor III | 2367: Post-industrial, possibly interplanetary. | While technically warp-capable as of 2367, Chairman Avel Durken chose to suppress the technology in order to better prepare his people for first contact. | TNG: "First Contact" |
| Menk | Valakis | 2151: Pre-industrial. | The Menk shared their homeworld with the technologically-superior Valakians. | ENT: "Dear Doctor" |
| Mintakans | Mintaka III | 2365: Pre-industrial. | TNG: "Who Watches The Watchers" | |
| Neural natives | Neural | 2268: Pre-industrial. | Neural was "uplifted" by the Klingon Empire, who gave them flintlock firearms in 2267. | TOS: "A Private Little War" |
| Nibirans | Nibiru | 2259: Pre-industrial. | Star Trek Into Darkness | |
| Ocampa | Ocampa | 2371: Post-industrial. | The Ocampa were dependent on the Caretaker for resources as of 2371. | VOY: "Caretaker" |
| Omega IV natives | Omega IV | 2268: Industrial, iron age. | Technological civilization was wiped out by biological warfare, regressing them to the iron age. | TOS: "The Omega Glory" |
| Otrin's species | Otrin's homeworld | 2378: Pre-industrial. | The species' post-industrial civilization was decimated by an antimatter disaster prior to 2378. | VOY: "Friendship One" |
| Ornarans | Ornara | 2364: Interplanetary. | In contact with aliens despite being pre-warp. | TNG: "Symbiosis" |
| Sarpeidon natives | Sarpeidon | 2269: Post-industrial. | Their homeworld was destroyed by the Beta Niobe supernova in 2269; the species fled into the planet's past via time portals. | TOS: "All Our Yesterdays" |
| Sigma Draconis III natives | Sigma Draconis III | 2268: Pre-industrial, equivalent to Earth in 1485. | TOS: "Spock's Brain" | |
| Sigma Draconis IV natives | Sigma Draconis IV | 2268: Post-industrial, equivalent to Earth in 2030. | ||
| Takarians | Takarian homeworld | 2373: Pre-industrial, bronze age. | VOY: "False Profits" | |
| Taurus II anthropoids | Taurus II | 2267: Pre-industrial, stone age. | TOS: "The Galileo Seven" | |
| Terralysium inhabitants | Terralysium | 2257: Pre-industrial. | Humans transplanted from Richmond, Indiana in 2053. | DIS: "New Eden" |
| Vaalians | Gamma Trianguli VI | 2267: Pre-industrial, stone age. | TOS: "The Apple" | |
| Valakians | Valakis | 2151: Interplanetary. | The Valakians shared their homeworld with the technologically-inferior Menk. Though pre-warp, they were familiar with aliens. | ENT: "Dear Doctor" |
| Vendikans | Vendikar | 2267: Post-industrial, possibly interplanetary. | Vendikar was formerly an Eminian colony. | TOS: "A Taste of Armageddon" |
| Ventu | Ledos | 2378: Pre-industrial, stone age. | An isolated society of Ledosians. | VOY: "Natural Law" |
| Veridian IV natives | Veridian IV | 2371: Pre-industrial. | Star Trek Generations | |
| Zeons | Zeon | 2268: Interplanetary. | TOS: "Patterns of Force" |
