The long-standing debate over the origins of noodles has finally reached a conclusion, with China emerging victorious. This was confirmed following an archaeological excavation.
Both Italians, the land of explorer Marco Polo, and Arabs have claimed to have invented noodles over 2000 years ago.
However, a group of archaeologists published in the British scientific journal *Nature* that there is undeniable evidence that China has known about noodles long before others.
Scientists discovered evidence showing that boiled noodles existed in the village of Lajia along the Yellow River in Northwestern China 4000 years ago.
The archaeological site, with 3 meters of sediment, has been carefully excavated since 1999. The remnants of the noodles from the Neolithic period did not contain any wheat or barley flour, which are commonly used to make modern noodles.
The ancient noodles were made from millet, one of the first grains cultivated in the semi-arid plains of Northwestern China.
“The noodles are small in size, about 0.3 cm in diameter, over 50 cm in length, and yellow,” said one of the scientists from the Department of Geology and Geography at the Beijing Academy of Sciences. “They resemble La-Mian, a traditional Chinese noodle made by kneading the dough thoroughly by hand.”
According to archaeologists, the village of Lajia was previously struck by a devastating earthquake. Subsequently, the area was submerged underwater.
