Primitive aliens first contact with modernish humans (RAR!)

[Eulogy]

You are a somewhat valued member of a city-state comprised of reptile-insectoid cross omnivorus bipeds. All your life, you were tending to your farm and family, serving the elders in charge, and bagging the occasional meat with arrow and snare. You've made a few mechanical things in your lifetime, but the tech can be described as early Renaissance at best.

One day, you witness a glowing white light somewhere off into the distance. You drop what you are doing and go investigate (against your better judgment), and when you find the source of the lights, you see a big shiny spacecraft with humans exiting it cautiously (not that you know the proper names for them). From the way they casually destroy the huge nasty predator that just attacked them, you know they are dangerous, but the way they carry themselves indicate that these beings are more curious than anything else, wanting to explore your world and learn.

What do you do?

[Purple]

Run home as fast as I can, gather my family and belongings and run for the hills. Those things might be curious. But they might also be angry angels of a vengeful god. And I do not want to stick around and find out.

[Borgholio]

Given how most species (humans included) of that technological era would have no idea what a spaceship is, or a spacesuit, or anything of that nature...and they just saw you casually blow away something that could eat half a village...most individuals would run like hell. Some may worship them as gods, but some may also attack them out of fear.

[Joun_Lord]

Shit and/or piss myself and run. I'm probably a relatively poorly educated simpleton who don't know shit about shit. Whatever minor devices I am familiar with are going to be so far removed from what the skypeople are packing I will believe it is magic and those wielding it are gods.

If my religion is anything like earth religions I know gods tend to be wrathful so I know I'm getting the fudge out. I'm not going to be sticking around to see how they carry themselves even if I can tell whether or not these alien beings in no doubt bulky space-suits are peaceful, which considering they are aliens beings in no doubt bulky space-suits its unlikely I could tell anything about their body language beyond they carry pretty powerful fire sticks that they aren't afraid to use.

Maybe I might return after talking to some people and maybe ingesting some big heaping mugs of whatever gets my repsect ass drunk though whether or not its with a greeting party or with torches and pitchforks is debatable.

[Raw Shark]

I, for one, welcome our new primate overlords! A local guide / quisling would certainly be of assistance in sating their curiosity or in pursuit of other, more nefarious goals, and, as a somewhat-valued member of my city state, I may be able to maneuver myself into a position as go-between for them and, "the elders in charge." Worst case scenario I screw up the negotiations somehow and they splatterfy me, but they might do that if I try to run anyway.

[Treknobabble]

I'd start out by trying to talk to them. It would probably take me a few minutes to put together just the right mix of pheromones to welcome them with, but I'd be able to figure it out. Not being sure of where their taste-pads are, I'd just splatter the message all over their legs. Realistically, they'd take that as an act of aggression and start shooting at me. At which point I'd start spewing blood from my nostrils and throw a couple of my tails at them in order to confuse them and help me make my getaway.

Or am I not quite that alien?

[jwl]

Do they vaporise the predator or something?

Because all predators could be taken out by renaissance technology anyway. People were whaling in the renaissance. Most predators can be taken out by the arrows you mention in the OP. I assume they were taken out with guns? Cannons and even firearms were around in renaissance times. I don't think seeing firearms that perform a bit better than the ones you are used to is going to hugely wow someone.

I'd start out by trying to talk to them. It would probably take me a few minutes to put together just the right mix of pheromones to welcome them with, but I'd be able to figure it out. Not being sure of where their taste-pads are, I'd just splatter the message all over their legs. Realistically, they'd take that as an act of aggression and start shooting at me. At which point I'd start spewing blood from my nostrils and throw a couple of my tails at them in order to confuse them and help me make my getaway.

Or am I not quite that alien?

Well if you know enough to read human body language as per the OP, you can't be that alien.

[Tandrax218]

I'd start out by trying to talk to them. ... a few minutes to put together just the right mix of pheromones to welcome them with, ......where their taste-pads are, I'd just splatter the message all over their legs..... I'd start spewing blood from my nostrils and throw a couple of my tails at them ....

Or am I not quite that alien?

Well Dan Simmons did wrote that love is the universal language and that it is the void that binds. So your "mixing bodily fluids with them " strategy is really a universal truth and the only constant in the universe

Make love not war

[Treknobabble]

I'd start out by trying to talk to them. ... a few minutes to put together just the right mix of pheromones to welcome them with, ......where their taste-pads are, I'd just splatter the message all over their legs..... I'd start spewing blood from my nostrils and throw a couple of my tails at them ....

Or am I not quite that alien?

Well Dan Simmons did wrote that love is the universal language and that it is the void that binds. So your "mixing bodily fluids with them " strategy is really a universal truth and the only constant in the universe

Make love not war

Well, that wasn't my intent. I just got thinking to myself, I'm supposedly an insect/reptile thingamajig, so I'm assuming that I communicate with scent like a bug and have taste pads on my feet like a fly. And like a lizard, when threatened, I can spew blood out of my orifices and give up replaceable limbs to confuse predators. And that's just one out of a million possible ways I could be really freaking weird by combining traits from possible reptiles and insects.

My general point is that if I'm alien enough, communication would be damn difficult. Miscommunication would be the order of the day.

Now that you bring it up, miscommunication could easily lead to the accidental performance of a mating ritual by one or both parties. So first contact by accidental pass-making-at is a legitimate possibility, if one of low probability.

[Zixinus]

Run home, inform the village I live in and try to prepare. Have preparations for running away but urge to create a scout party that is independent from the village (for a time at least,, with enough supplies) and can observe the sky-people from a distance. Have someone on guard that would signal the arrival of the sky-people so the villagers could hide or run away if possible. Caution should be based on the killing of the large predators.

If any communication attempts occur ,do it from a distance. Perhaps leave things with symbols and iconography, perhaps trying to teach a few simple signs like "danger" (like the big predators they just killed) or "fire" or "skypeople". Try to hide the location of the village and if possible, lure the sky-people away from it. Try to guide the sky people towards something curious but safe like a forest or seaside or abandoned habitats where they can look at stuff for a long time.

[Eulogy]

^ Cautious, sensible, doesn't try to escalate but leaves the option of negotiation open in the future - and the humans skypeople can learn more about you and your world, lessening the chances of accidents. I like it.

[Eulogy]

I don't like double posting.

[FedRebel]

You are a somewhat valued member of a city-state comprised of reptile-insectoid cross omnivorus bipeds.

How many digits do I have?

Humans have 5 (including thumb) on each hand

...it'll be important later

All your life, you were tending to your farm and family, serving the elders in charge, and bagging the occasional meat with arrow and snare. You've made a few mechanical things in your lifetime, but the tech can be described as early Renaissance at best.

Tad vague here, Iron age?

Obviously pre-industrial

One day, you witness a glowing white light somewhere off into the distance. You drop what you are doing and go investigate (against your better judgment), and when you find the source of the lights, you see a big shiny spacecraft with humans exiting it cautiously (not that you know the proper names for them). From the way they casually destroy the huge nasty predator that just attacked them, you know they are dangerous, but the way they carry themselves indicate that these beings are more curious than anything else, wanting to explore your world and learn.

What do you do?

Would think they were Gods of some sort, likely the bad kind given the ease with which they killed the "predator"

(The equivalent era on Earth comets, etc. were seen as harbingers of doom, no reason to think things are different here. Additionally on the common hunter/gatherer social class, concept of 'space' would be marginal, thought of extraterrestrial life would not occur.)

If the lights were seen by others whom promptly assumed it was a sign of the end times and my return bringing information of 'Angels' clad in white with featureless gold faces (the common gold shade on space helmets) whom killed a ...(let's call it a 'Waspriwulf') with a 'fire stick' that had the roar of thunder behind it....

Everyone will be thoroughly terrified, the village would be in a chaotic frenzy between people trying to flee as far away from the "angels" as possible to religious cults committing mass suicide, some priests from the mainstream faith could dare to meet that "angels" to vogue for the village's piousness...


*If the 'space gods' attempt First Contact...it will go badly (how bad...and how salvageable depends on the "insecto-reptillian" 'hand') verbal communication is impossible (just ask any Great Ape, hope you know American Sign Language.)