A number of Tibetan sources trace the origin of human beings in the region back to the prehistoric inhabitants. Some documents of the Bon religion, the indigenous religion of Tibet, state that the universe originated from a white egg and a black egg, both of which evolved from the five essential elements. Shiba Sambo Benchi, the ancestor of human beings, was born from the core of the black egg. Then, the descendents of Shiba Sambo Benchi, the respective gods of heaven and earth, gave birth to what became human beings.

Other legends assert the Tibetan race was born from the combination of monkeys and the spirit of a rock, and the earliest human beings lived near Zedam on the Yarlung Zangbo River, which stemmed from a vague memory of the ancient people that their ancestors came from woods and forests. The Tibetan editions of Origins and Doctrines of Different Religions by Tiwu and A Happy Feast of Sages have it that, before the emergence of human beings, there were ten of twelve non-humans who ruled over Tibet, which was called the place of "Bod-Khams". The word "Bod-pa", which was the name of the Tibetan race for ages, apparently evolved from "Bod-Khams", the name of ancient Tibet.

Some other ethnic groups living near the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, such as the Qiang, Naxi and Pumi, held for centuries that their ancestors came from the central belt of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and this was supported by their legends and myths.

Based on archeological discoveries, folk legends and myths, as well as analysis of the natural environment on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, we find support for the belief that the earliest places where ancient people of the plateau lived was around the woods along the middle and lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River. Later with their ability to begin to use fire, to resist stronger wild beasts, as well as a wider diet, the ancient human beings began to spread and live along various rivers, such as the Yarlung Zangbo, the Lhasa River, the Nyamchu River, the Nyiyam River and the Yarlung River, and it was here that the early stages of farm culture developed, including anima breeding in the valleys. But, only when the farm culture developed to the extent that ancient people could raise groups of wild animals, including domesticating wild horses and taming wolves to become hunting dogs, was large-scale animal breeding able to develop in the vast grasslands. With the improvements of herdsmen’s physique mainly through eating cheese and meat, they had the ability to cope with the fierce conditions imposed by long treks that became necessary as the growing number of animals needed new and large grassland. Thus, the nomadic tribes migrated toward larger areas. Some tribes started from the North Tibet Plateau, tramped over Mt Tanggula to reach the sources of the Yangtze and Huanghe rivers.

On the vast grassland around Qinghai Lake, various tribal unions formed, and they continued to expand eastward to the Loess Plateau, where they came into contact and associated with the Huaxia Tribe living on the middle and lower reaches of the Huanghe River. They are the so-called "Qiang people" and the "West Qiang Tribe" in Chinese historical records. Chinese historical records describe the "Qiang people" as Western herdsman, the actual meaning of which was left to further research. The Qiang tribe expanded eastward and joined the Han race in the course of historical development, while the other branch that traveled southwards, crossed over the Hengduan Mountains, and entered the Yungui Plateau; some went even further, to Burma, forming series of ethnic groups of the Tibetan-Burmese language family. Even today, from linguistic similarities, we can see their relative relationship. With regard to the agricultural and nomadic tribes left on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, they formed the Tibetan race after the unification of the Tubo kingdom during the time of China’s Tang Dynasty. The historical origin of the Qiang and the Tibetan races is perhaps as Professor Fei Xiaotong has said: "Even if the Qiang people might not be regarded as the main source of the Tibetan people, it is undoubtedly that the Qiang people played a certain role in the formation of Tibetan race."