The Archaic Era's early years are mostly an unknown, as it precedes even written history. Archaeological evidence suggests that the very early history of Tellia was not unlike that of other continents, however. Initial hunter-gatherer groups slowly morphed into larger cohesive units, forming the basis for the first tribes of Tellia.
While every tribe attributes its origin to a slightly different point of time and place, it is believed that the Taiuarija was one of, if not the first tribe to form into a real cohesive, consistent group. Many others followed suit, and it was not long before the whole continent was composed of these spread out groups. They did not stay in any one place for long, following a nomadic lifestyle. While there is some limited evidence dated to around 2400 B.F. suggesting the Occidea people partook in basic agricultural practices, they did not as a whole settle down for prolonged periods of time. In accordance with the traditions of the Occidea people to this day, it is believed this was due to a cultural taboo.
The tribes had a few recorded religious beliefs, though it obviously varied from one to another. Much of their religion was more based on a series of traditions and rituals rather than in worship of a specific deity. This would change significantly, however, around 2200 B.F., when the first recorded sightings of the Old Gods began to pop up. While oral myths are obviously inconsistent, several artifacts depicting the Voyager have been dated as ever so slightly older than other similar antiques. A manuscript describing an "eye in the sky" being followed by a "creeping mass, unlike that of any other beast" has been dated to 2190 B.F., which leads historians to believe that the first of the Old Gods to arrive were the Voyager and the Broodmother. Similar artifacts depicting more and more of them have been found, culminating in a vase inscribed with all 8 Old Gods from 2168 B.F. This has been widely attributed and recognized as the end of the Archaic Era formally, as it signified the presence of all of the Old Gods.