Progenitors

The ancient humanoids or Progenitors were one of the oldest sentient species and possibly the first humanoid species to evolve in the Milky Way Galaxy on an ancient planet in Star Trek. They flourished some 4.5 billion years ago and explored the galaxy, but found no other lifeforms like themselves.

Believing that the life span of a single species was finite, the ancient humanoids seeded the primordial environments of many planets with a DNA code that would direct the evolution of life on that planet towards a form similar to their own. Species that likely originated from seeded primordial seas included Humans, Klingons, Romulans, Vulcans, and Cardassians.