Apocalypse I believe was from space, possibly from the dawn of time, and arrived on Earth way back during ancient Egyptian times.
At least that's what I've gathered from my youth memory about comics.
Reading on wiki is saying he was born in egypt 5000 years ago. Kang the Conqueror crashed in egypt and became pharaoh Rama Tut. Baal, leader of the Sandstormers, showed En Sabah Nur (Apocalypse) The Eye of Ages, a jewel which shows its possessor glimpses of their future.
At this point, I'm assuming he then discovered Kang's wrecked ship and began achieving his technology that way. But, it says his origin of technology is revealed in X-Force #37 (vol. 1, August 1994).