>>24 http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v437/n7061/images/437967a-f1.2.jpg a, Noodles dating to 4,000 years ago, shown here on top of an in-filled sediment cone and revealed after the inverted earthenware bowl containing them was removed. Scale bar, 1 cm. b, Dendriform-1 husk phytoliths (left) from the noodle sample compared with husks from the modern millet Panicum miliaceum (right). c, Dendriform-2 husk phytoliths from the noodles (left) compared with husks from the modern millet Setaria italica (right); the dendriform-2 type mostly occurred at the lemma end of S. italica. d, Polarized-light (left) and light micrographs (right) of starch grains from the prehistoric noodles. Although the lamellae characteristics of noodle starch were mostly lost as a result of gelatinization during cooking, their size and cross-shaped birefringence under polarized light are similar to those of starch from the millets S. italica and P. miliaceum. Scale bar, 20 m for b, c, and d.