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The kyn hail from the planet Kass, the first planet orbiting the star Zuraya, a K-type star. The Zuraya system is highly unusual for having only a single (albeit massive, much larger than Jupiter) gas giant at its outer edges and no asteroid belt; all the other worlds are terrestrial planets, although only Kass supports life. Planet Kass itself is about 80% the size of Earth, and has a proportionally smaller hydrosphere, with water covering just 60% of the planet's surface, leaving the planet comparatively dry (though it is not by any means a single-biome planet, there are forests, glaciers, mountains, etc. Still, plains, savannas, and deserts dominate). The planet also has an extremely minor axial tilt; there is little in the way of seasons.

Known Space has three species that can compete for the title of "oldest species in known space"; in terms of raw age, the kyn have the other two beat by a country mile. The kyn evolved into their present state and sapience on Kass over eight million years ago. However as obligate carnivores that swiftly rose to the level of superpredator, their population remained extremely small for a very long time, preventing the rise of sedentary civilization. They just couldn't figure out agriculture because it was a step removed from them: they would not personally benefit from growing plants, and hunting and eventually herding provided enough food that starvation was rarely an issue that needed to be circumvented. The idea of growing vast amounts of plant food for their prey just didn't click.

Eventually, some 18,000 years ago, sheer statistical luck more than anything led a particular kyn people to develop agriculture for the benefit of their prey species, allowing them to adopt a more sedentary lifestyle and build actual settlements, small towns, then eventually true cities. Writing and the arts took off, populations grew, and the kyn finally started advancing in a more "normal" way