Lu Houyuan, Yang Xiaoyan, Ye Maolin, Liu Kam-Biu, Xia Zhengkai, Ren Xiaoyan, Cai Linhai, Wu Naiqin, Liu Tung-Sheng
Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China.
Nature. 2005 Oct 13;437(7061):967-8. doi: 10.1038/437967a.
Noodles have been a popular staple food in many parts of the world for at least 2,000 years, although it is debatable whether the Chinese, the Italians or the Arabs invented them first. Here we analyse a prehistoric sample of noodles contained in a well preserved, sealed earthenware bowl discovered in the Late Neolithic archaeological site of Lajia in northwestern China. We identify millet as the source of the abundant seed-husk phytoliths and starch grains present in the vessel. This shows that the conversion of ground millet flour into dough that could be repeatedly stretched into long, thin strands for the preparation of boiled noodles was already established in this region 4,000 years ago.
至少2000年来，面条一直是世界许多地方广受欢迎的主食，不过究竟是中国人、意大利人还是阿拉伯人最早发明了面条，这仍存在争议。在此，我们分析了在中国西北部喇家新石器时代晚期考古遗址发现的一个保存完好、密封的陶碗中所含的史前面条样本。我们确定，该容器中大量的种子壳植硅体和淀粉粒来源于小米。这表明，早在4000年前，该地区就已掌握了将磨碎的小米粉转化为面团的技术，这种面团可以反复拉伸成长而细的面条用于煮制。
