by Stephen, Taiwan
The origin of noodles (not to mention the whole pasta category) has long been in dispute. Who really invented this string-like dish? Was it the Chinese, the Arabs, the Persians, or the Italians? All have had their advocates. Well, now it seems we know.
The incredibly well preserved millet noodles shown here, were recently discovered at the Lajia Ruins, Qinghai, China in an upside-down bowl. They are about 4,000 years old. Previously the earliest evidence traced noodle making in China to East Han Dynasty sometime between AD 25 and 220. The new find pushes the known Chinese use of noodles back by over 2,000 years. Lajia, like many of north China's ancient sites, is on the Yellow River. If the other countries want to challenge this record, they had better get digging.
Comments