First Men: Cro-Magnon or just "first" men in Westeros?

[StarkofWinterfell]

Were the First Men the first race of Man or were they just the first humans to cross into Westeros?

This has been something I've always pondered since I started reading the books nearly a decade ago. We really can't say for sure because we can't compare the humans of Earthos to the natural progression of our own humankind from the early cave-dwellers to the space-faring pioneers we are today. It is difficult to find any information on prehistoric Earthos, and I will probably just assume that it does not exist because GRRM hasn't thought it out yet. 

However, with these limitations in mind, I do find it odd that the First Men would style themselves as anything other than the first race of mankind. If "First Men" was the name given to them, why did they accept it and began referring to themselves as such? Let's look at some similarities.

• The First Men never actually took down any history of their own with the Andals being the first to record history. If the First Men recorded anything, it is left as runes, whose meaning has been lost over time.
• When the First Men came to Westeros, they practiced a slash-and-burn style that originated in the Neolithic era of our own history, burning down the forests of the Children to clear up land for their own agriculture and settlements.
• Modern Westerosi First Men societies (the Mountain Clans of the North and the Vale) are still very much primitive in some ways culturally and technologically.
  • First Men Houses like the Starks or Royces are "Andalized"

Some potential detractors:

• When the First Men came to Westeros, they were already wielding bronze weapons, riding horses, and wearing boiled leather armor.
• The Great Empire of the Dawn most likely existed for millennia before the First Men crossed into Westeros; however, I have another theory on this topic that states the GEotD were extraterrestrial in origin.

In summary, it seems that when the Andals came to Westeros, they civilized the local peoples and brought a more complex form of society. Of course, they also exterminated what they thought of as a more primitive native people evidenced by the many ruthless wars the Andals had with the First Men. It just seems that anyone who claims descent from the First Men would not refer to themselves as First Men. They would have another name for themselves. In any event, this is just a thought exercise. I doubt we'll ever truly know for sure.

[Julia H.]

5 hours ago, StarkofWinterfell said:

It just seems that anyone who claims descent from the First Men would not refer to themselves as First Men. They would have another name for themselves. In any event, this is just a thought exercise. I doubt we'll ever truly know for sure.

Perhaps the First Men have a different ethnonym in the Old Tongue, their original language. The Common Tongue that they speak in the Seven Kingdoms today is a different language, and that is where the First Men are called First Men. In this case, they accepted the name when they adopted the language. Alternatively, the First Men may have called themselves originally just Men (that is a known phenomenon is real life - some ethnonyms originate in the words meaning 'man' in the given languages ), and started to use First Men only when the Andals arrived, who may have been called by them something like New Men or Second Men or Latecomers. 

I don't think they are the Cro-Magnon of their world though - that would be the giants, who are apparently a different race, yet are included in "the realms of men" by Jon and seem to be regarded as "kin" by the wildlings.

[joluoto2]

I think the First Men just called themselves The Men, when they were the only humans around in Westeros. Regarding society, we know they at least in the Reach established petty kingdoms somewhat early. They are said to have had bronze equipment already when they migrated to Westeros.