"Our team has used infrared scans to screen the food remains, which were discovered in pottery wares unearthed from Yanghai Cemetery," Yang Yimin, associate professor of the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said today.
The oldest processed wheaten food remains were unearthed in north China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
"The ingredients were mainly flour made from barley and millet. It was also mixed with lactobacillus and yeast," he was quoted as saying to state-run Xinhua news agency.
Yang said the discovery showed wheat became an important staple food in Xinjiang for that period.
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Food decomposes quickly and is rarely found at archaeological sites.
However, the remains were preserved at Yanghai Cemetery because of the extremely arid climate in the Gobi Desert, south of Huoyan (Flaming) Mountain in Xinjiang's Turpan Basin, which is known for its extreme heat in day time.
There are more than 500 ancient tombs found in the cemetery, which covers an area of 54,000 square meters.
Yang said the most findings would not only lead to better ancient food processing methods, but also better information on the role Xinjiang played in influencing China's cuisine and diet.
Among the major grains for ancient China, only Chinese millet originated from the central Yellow River region, while rice was domesticated in southern China regions.
Wheat and soybean, which were generally believed to have been originated from Central Asia, were cultivated in China's northwest region.