Speaking of archaeological discoveries , people usually associate them with historical sites , ancient tombs and unearthed cultural relics . Seldom do people link them with food .
"Some food remains have also been found in the archaeological digs . Such discoveries turn out to be very important , because they can rewrite the history of food that we knew ," Wan Renxiang , an expert with Institute of Archeology at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences told Shenyang Evening News .
Chinese food culture has a very long history . When a documentary on Chinese food , Tasting China , was first shown on TV in 2012, it was a hit in the country . The following discoveries show that the pursuit of good taste began early , since ancient times , and also proves that the foodies , or "chihuo ", in Chinese , are not unique to our time .
These noodles were discovered by archeologists at Lajia historical site in Minhe county of Northwest China 's Qinghai province in 2002. Through research , archeologists concluded that the ingredients in the noodles were a mixture of millets ("shu " in Chinese ) and they can be traced back 4,000 years , making them the earliest known noodles .
This terrine with eggs inside was unearthed in an ancient tomb from the Western Zhou Dynasty (1046- 771BC), with a history of more than 2,800 years . The eggs are the earliest ever discovered in China and are petrified .
The earliest Chinese dumplings were unearthed at Astana Cemetery in Turpan prefecture in Northwest China 's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region . They have a history of more than 1,700 years .
Kabobs discovered at Han tombs in Northwest China 's Ningxia Hui autonomous region .
Image may be NSFW.
A piece of a wall painting from the Frescoes of Liao tomb shows a kitchen in ancient times
