The Taungs were an ancient race of gray-skinned humanoids who controlled the planet Coruscant for many millennia, prior to the dawn of modern Humans. They conquered the other peoples of the planet, including the Zhell, in a series of bloody conquests. They were known throughout history as the Dark Warriors, after a volcano erupted during their final battle with the Zhell. The ash from the explosion wiped out the Zhell city, and the Taung adopted the name Dha Werda Verda, or "The Warriors of the Shadow", when the ash cloud filled the skies for two years.
Xenoarchaeologists believed that the Taungs were one of the possible ancestors of the original Mandalorian race, when evidence was discovered that the Battalions of Zhell eventually defeated the Taungs and took control of Coruscant. The Taungs fled, and were believed to have been the "gray-skinned beings" that were often described as the original Mandalorians.