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Noodles are a global food, but the periods when and places where they were made and originated, as well as their ingredients and the cooking methods used to manufacture them, have remained contentious. In the 2005 edition of the journal Nature, we wrote a summary of the millet noodle specimens found in the Late Neolithic Qijia cultural stratum of the Lajia archaeological site in Qinghai Province, China. However, how the ancient people made millet noodles remains controversial. This paper provides a systematic analysis of the remains of noodles found within an earthenware bowl at the Lajia 'noodle house' in terms of their plant composition including phytoliths, starch and biomarkers. It provides evidence of how people used millet 4,000 years ago and, most specifically, of the principal methods used for producing millet-based noodles. Further, we show how we used traditional hele tools to make hele millet noodles, with especial reference to the gelatinized hydrogel-forming method, to simulate morphology consistent with the composition and form of the unearthed millet noodles. The results of this study provide new evidence and new insights into the cultural characteristics of the prehistoric human diet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large number of stone knives have been recovered from Neolithic archaeological sites in East Asia. However, direct evidence regarding the functions of the stone knives has been scarce, and hence, their functions have remained controversial. In this study, we recovered and analysed ancient starch grains and phytoliths from residues adhering to stone knives excavated from the Lajia site, Qinghai Province, northwest China, thus providing direct evidence for the functions of the knives. Our analyses were based on the following: (1) an assemblage of 278 identifiable starch grains, representing grains from the stems of foxtail millet ( Setaria italica) and broomcorn millet ( Panicum miliaceum) (65.1 % of the total) and the stems of Hordeum and Triticum species (3.6 % of the total), and (2) an assemblage of 361 identifiable phytoliths, the majority of which were from the stems and leaves of plants such as Panicoideae and related taxa (96 % of the total). Our study demonstrates that one of the functions of the stone knives was the harvesting crops. In addition, a few starch grains from food legumes and roots (3.4 % of the total) indicate that the stone knives were also likely used to process, peel and cut some foods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Plant residues recovered from prehistoric stone artifacts can be used to help explain tool function and plant use. At the Changning site in Qinghai Province, Northwest China, dating from 4000 yr BP, we examined starch granules extracted from three slate stone knives. A total of 153 starch grains were retrieved from three stone knives, from which we identified starches from legumes, the Triticeae tribe, foxtail millet (Setaria italica), broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum), roots and tubers. These results indicate that the stone knives may have been used for a variety of activities that included reaping grasses and food processing. The species of starch grains retrieved from the study sample reveal that diverse crops were cultivated at the Changning site 4000 years ago. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Lajia Site, located near the upper reaches of the Yellow River and the border of Qinghai Province and Discusses the excavations made in the Gansu Province, a large-scale site of the Qijia Culture. Consideration of how archaeologists excavated an unusual scene of prehistoric dramatic and miserable disasters in 2000 and 2001; Reference to how lots of geologic-geographic evidences revealed that the Lajia Site was ruined by coinstantaneous disasters including floods from the Yellow River and earthquakes; How a study on these disasters and their driven forces could provide us not only the knowledge on the palaeoenvironment of the area, but also offer us a valuable site to assess the influence of the natural disasters on human civilization.