Board Thread:Fun and Games/@comment-27912807-20170428183448/@comment-26149161-20170428190454

I think they came from Men. This is corroborated in two of Tolkien's essays, both where it is claimed that Men were the original Orcs. In the first one it is called "most likely" based on the behavior of both, and in another the Elves say "doubtless Morgoth bred Orcs from Men".

However, this change was never incorporated into the final text, being laid down in the later years of his life. As such, we have Orcs before the awakening of Men, and Orcs living to great age. However, it could be argued that a combination of Tolkien's later theories is most likely-that the earliest Orcs were Maiar and/or tamed beasts, and Men were only introduced later.

Ithilion, Discussions Moderator (Auta i lómë) 19:04, April 28, 2017 (UTC)