Do you capitalize the ancient in people?

You would not capitalize "ancient" in the phrase "ancient people".

Here's why:

* "Ancient" is an adjective describing the people. It's not a proper noun referring to a specific group of people.

* Proper nouns are capitalized. For example, "Egyptians" or "Romans" are proper nouns, but "ancient Egyptians" or "ancient Romans" are not.

So, the correct way to write it would be: ancient people.