My theory is that flat bread was first used for pies (with filling) or with a topping (like pizza). Then someone took thinly rolled dough cut into strips and boiled them (oven probably wasn’t available), then mixed the cooked filling in with the “noodles” and ‘voila!’, pasta style dinner.
It’s just my theory.
This is a good way to make EGG NOODLES. Toss 'em in the chicken broth. Sometimes you cut crosswise and make spaetzle ~ which can be thought of as little noodles, miniature dumplings, or whatever you want depending on the thickness of the sauce, and whether or not you take the boiled noodle/dumpling and fry it up!
One popular way of making noodles is to EXTRUDE THEM through a die. I have an enormous set of dies and two different machines to mix the dough.
The key element in extruding food and food byproducts is the die. The grinder or mixer will almost invariably use a variation of the Archimedes screw ~ which is credited to Archimedes the Greek inventor ~ in the third century BC.
That idea spread far and wide quite rapidly as a way of lifting water, and other applications probably popped up almost immediately. Pushing soft dough through a hole is an OBVIOUS application.