When we think about food origins, often we talk about the movement of people, plants, animals and ideas. But the study of humans would be an incomplete one without the study of the clay and ceramic vessels, one of humankind’s earliest innovations. If pottery is a conversation with the past, archeologists are our interpreters.

Today we’re talking to a whisperer of ancient history, culinary archeologist Jerolyn Morrison. Jerolyn has a Ph.D in archeology specializing in the cooking vessels of ancient Crete.

We also talk to Naoko Takei Moore about the miracle of donabe, the ceramic pot that is one of the oldest Japan. Naoko is a food expert, and author of the Donabe cookbook and owner of Toiro Kitchen in Los Angeles, a purveyor of fine Japanese ceramic cookware.