|Form of government||
Disunited tribes led by Alpha Male
|Out of universe information|
- "The first host of the Goa'uld."
Unas is a race named by the Goa'uld that translates to 'the first ones' or 'the first race' or more specifically, the first humanoid race that they used as hosts before Ra discovered the Tau'ri on Earth. The Unas evolved on P3X-888, the same homeworld as the Goa'uld. The Unas are reptilian in nature, possessing regenerative abilities that a Goa'uld symbiote can enhance. (SG1: "Thor's Hammer", "The First Ones")
The Unas were the original hosts used by the Goa'uld on their homeworld of P3X-888. When the Goa'uld eventually learned how to use Stargates they took Unas slave armies with them to different planets. (SG1: "The First Ones")
The first Tau'ri encounter with the Unas was when Colonel Jack O'Neill and Teal'c were trapped by a device called Thor's Hammer on the planet of Cimmeria, they had to defend themselves from a Goa'uld infested Unas that had been trapped long previously. Teal'c explains that the Unas were the first hosts to the Goa'uld, before the parasitic species encountered human beings; humans proved to be a much more suitable host-race for the Goa'uld, as human bodies were easier to repair, and human hands and voices offered much greater expressive and tool-using abilities; the Unas as hosts were phased out. (SG1: "Thor's Hammer")
Although the Unas were phased out as hosts, at least the System Lord Sokar used Unas to collect hosts on a Medieval planet. That is until the Unas was killed by SG-1. Sokar himself was believed to at one point have been in an Unas host. (SG1: "Serpent's Song", "Demons")
On an archaeological expedition to P3X-888, Dr. Daniel Jackson was kidnapped by an Unas named Chaka. After they established a line of communication with, they eventually befriended each other. Chaka took Daniel away to the lair of his tribe, but instead of sacrificing Daniel, as he was supposed to, he pleaded for Daniel's life. The Alpha Male of the tribe refused. As a response Chaka, with the help of SG-1, killed the tribe's Alpha Male (making him the new one) and offered Daniel to join his tribe, an offer he politely rejected. (SG1: "The First Ones")
Daniel later helped Chaka escape (and start a revolt) from a human based society that used the Unas as slave labour. Chaka also helped SG-1 negotiate a treaty with the Unas of P3X-403. These Unas had been enslaved to mine Naquadah for the Goa'uld, but later drove their oppressors away from the planet, since then the mine has been a sacred place for the native Unas. When Stargate Command sent a team to this world to mine, the Unas felt threatened. They in turn threatened the mining team to war on them until they started to negotiate. The Unas would get food and supplies if they extracted the Naquadah for the Tau'ri. (SG1: "Beast of Burden", "Enemy Mine")
Unas are an exceptionally tough and hardy species, and significantly stronger than human beings. A healthy Unas can keep fighting even after an entire magazine from an H&K MP5A3 submachine gun emptied into its chest, although it will eventually die from such massive injuries. A Goa'uld-possessed Unas is even more powerful, with exceptional regeneration abilities that allow them to survive and recover from multiple bullet wounds even without the aid of a Sarcophagus, able to speak English and stay in long periods of sleep to survive for a thousand years. Unas have green blood. (SG1: "Thor's Hammer")
The Unas has also evolved so that the back of the neck is protected from Goa'uld infiltration, as a natural defense. But not all Unas has evolved that much so you normally see them with necklace made of bones to protect them. (See technology area).
The Unas speak their own language that varies between planets but is close enough to be understandable by Unas from other planets. Even on a planet where humans and Unas coexisted, the Unas have not been observed to speak any language other than their own. However, Goa'uld-possessed Unas have spoken other languages. It could be argued that Chaka's pronunciation of "Daniel" is at least a partial ability to understand other languages. (SG1: "Thor's Hammer")
On a technological basis, the Unas have not gained the technological advancement that the Goa'uld developed. Instead, the Unas resort to using spears and other primitive forms of equipment. One of their notable developments are necklaces that prevent a Goa'uld from taking an Unas as a host as they have done in the past. (SG1: "The First Ones")
Although when Dr. Daniel Jackson brings Chaka to mediate a dispute between Unas and Stargate Command over mining of the Unas' world, he is shown to be wearing very modern clothing and has lost his previously lurching gait which seems to show that the Unas are capable of becoming 'civilized' if given the proper opportunity. (SG1: "Enemy Mine")