Dal (species)

The Dals were a race which lived on the planet Skaro.

After reading the Thals' historical records, the First Doctor claimed that the Dals were the "forebear" of the Dalek race, and that "Dals" was what the Thals called the Daleks at the time of the neutronic war that mutated the surviving Thals and Dalek ancestors. (TV: "The Ambush") According to another account, the Daleks were descended from the Kaleds. (TV: Genesis of the Daleks)

The Thal Dyoni said that the Daleks were originally teachers, while the Thal leader Temmosus said they were philosophers. (TV: "The Escape")

The Dals were extinct by the time of the Thousand Year War between the Thals and the Kaleds, as were the Tharons, as a result of a programme of genocide orchestrated by the Kaleds. A few words of the Dals' language were preserved, such as "Varga" meaning "devourer". (AUDIO: Purity)

Davros, the creator of the Daleks, found a prophecy in the forbidden Book of Predictions, written in the extinct language of the Dals, which stated "...and on that day, men will become as gods." In the original language, the final word was pronounced "Dal-ek." (AUDIO: Guilt)

Varna, a Kaled from the time of the Thousand Year War, said that "Dal" was a Kaled word for warrior. (AUDIO: The Lights of Skaro)

Behind the scenes

 * TV: The Daleks names the Dals as the predecessors of the Daleks. TV: Genesis of the Daleks, which actually showed the creation of the Daleks, contradicted this and named the Daleks' ancestors as the Kaleds. In spirit, the Dals being the ancestors of the Daleks is technically correct, seeing as how Davros took inspiration from them. Logically and physically, however, they were not connected.
 * It should be noted that it is never stated that Daleks were descendants of the Dals, but simply the successors, which makes much more sense, since, as previously stated, Davros was inspired by the Dals.