It has long been argued that noodles originated in Arabia, or maybe Italy, or maybe even China. So the discovery of the world’s oldest noodles in China certainly tilts the argument in favor of that ancient country.
Something really bad happened at Lajia on the Yellow River about 4,000 years ago. Archaeologists excavating the ancient site discovered skeletons in abnormal positions which indicated they were attempting to flee some sort of disaster. Some experts believe there was a catastrophic earthquake followed by a massive flood, possibly caused by a change in a nearby river’s course.
Archaeologists investigating the site found an earthenware bowl filled with a brownish-yellow, fine clay. They turned it over and found the noodles sitting on top of the sediment.
The noodles resemble the traditional Chinese noodle made by repeatedly pulling and stretching the dough by hand. But unlike modern noodles, which are made of wheat flour, these noodles appear to have been made with millet, a grain native to China.
The oldest written record mentioning noodles has been traced to a book written between 25 and 220 AD during the East Han Dynasty.
There’s more information and a photo of the ancient noodles here:
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