In Asia they're noodles. In Italy it's pasta. They both reflect separate culinary cultures that developed in parallel - at the same time. We can't attribute the origination to one location or another. Rice noodles originated during the Chinese Qin dynasty (259-210 b.c) and have been an integral part of the cuisine there since. At the same time, in what is now Italy and the Mediterranean, people used wheat to make pasta, which is also a staple in those cultures. Vermicelli is an Italian word that means "little worms" but the noodle/pasta is used nowadays in many, many cuisines and dishes - sometimes made with rice, sometimes with wheat.