[fouc]

technology or civilization doesn't require our recognition, it exists or not regardless.

Our combustion-based technology is rather a fluke of having a huge amount of one-time crude oil reserves. Other planets won't necessarily have that.

[asymptosis]

We're talking about fiction. If you can't recognize it as technology or civilization, how do you plan to write about it?

As for combustion, indeed, other planets may not have it. So how do you propose that they would start to develop a technology which would lead to building spaceships?

[uncletaco]

This was not a problem in Solaris, Annihilation, or Story of Your Life.

Some stories very much are about aliens who use tech or have civilizations that are very very alien to us.

[filoeleven]

Children of Ruin does this quite well also.