What and How Did Ancient People Cook? Reconstructing Everyday Life Through Traces Left on Pottery

Dr. Shinji Kubota, Associate Professor,
International Research Center for Humanities and Social Sciences, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Have you ever wondered what ancient people ate and how they prepared their food? Associate Professor Shinji Kubota is unraveling the food culture of ancient societies through traces left on excavated pottery and other artifacts. His research helps bring the everyday lives of people from thousands of years ago vividly back to life.

Archaeological research specializing in China, the origin of rice cultivation and food culture in East Asia.

Could you start by telling us about your research?

I specialize in Chinese archaeology. China is considered one of the cultural birthplaces of East Asia, particularly in terms of the development of agriculture, cereal-based crops, and cooking techniques. These practices and ideas spread across East Asia over time. My primary research goal is to reconstruct the development of agriculture and food culture by analyzing archaeological finds, especially pottery, from ancient sites. For example, I examine how pottery was used, how food was prepared, and what was eaten during the Xia and Shang Dynasties, which are considered of the earliest dynasties in Chinese history. I also explore the broader societal and cultural transitions reflected in these practices.

While archaeology involves reconstructing history through excavated artifacts, that alone is not enough to fully understand agriculture and food culture. Therefore, I collaborate with experts in literature, ethnography, geoscience, and agricultural science. This interdisciplinary approach is essential, as it allows us to apply analytical techniques that archaeology alone cannot offer, helping us better achieve our research objectives.

Pottery as a treasure trove of ancient culinary clues

Can ancient pottery really tell us what people ate and how they cooked it?

Yes, it can. One of the most revealing clues is the burnt remains found inside potter. By analyzing the lipids and carbon isotopes in these residues, we can determine what kinds of ingredients were cooked. For example, a type of silica called “phytolith” is unique to rice, so if it is found in the burnt, it strongly suggests that rice was cooked in the vessel.

Traces of use on the pottery also reveal cooking methods. Since we no longer cook with pottery in our daily lives, we conduct ethnographic research to interpret these traces more accurately. This includes visiting ethnic groups in Southeast Asia who used pottery in recent times, and interviewing people in rural China who still live self-sufficiently, to observe how they process and cook grains like millet and foxtail millet.

How did Chinese cooking methods spread across East Asia?

Two major methods emerged in early Chinese rice cooking. One was the “water-draining method,” where rice was boiled in excess water, and about 70–80% of the water was drained before letting the rice steam. The other was a porridge-like method, where rice was cooked together with other ingredients. The water-draining method was introduced to Japan during the Yayoi period (ca. 300 BCE–300 CE), along with rice cultivation. It spread not only to Japan but also to other neighboring regions like Southeast Asia. Later on, rice steaming method became common in China, and this method too spread widely, including to Japan during the Kofun period (ca. 250–700 CE).

Why did cooking methods change over time?

The shift toward steaming rice coincides with the emergence of centralized authority. Steaming is better suited for large-scale cooking, making it ideal for redistributing rice collected as tribute by those in power. It is also a more reliable method, even when rice quality varies.

In Japan, the water-draining method from China eventually gave away to what we now call the “absorption method”, similar to modern rice cooking. This change is closely tied to rice varieties. Early rise, like tropical japonica, was relatively dry and better suited for the water-draining method, producing fluffy rice that paired well with soupy side dishes. By the medieval period, however, temperate japonica, sticky and moist, became common, making the absorption method more appropriate.

The oldest evidence of cooked rise in East Asia!

What have Chinese archaeological studies revealed?

The Tianluoshan site, part of the Hemudu culture near the lower Yangtze River (ca. 5000 BCE), is one of the earliest rice-farming settlements. Our research on pottery from this site confirmed that early rice farmers cooked rice using the water-draining method. This is currently the oldest known example of rice cooking in East Asia.

However, such rice-cooking pottery is rare. Most vessels show evidence of porridge preparation, often with a mix of ingredients. Lipid residue analysis suggests that rice was stretched with water and other foodstuffs, likely because rice harvests were not yet stable or abundant. Full rice cooking may have been reserved for times when sufficient rice was available.

Another example is the Erlitou culture (ca. 1750-1550BCE), thought to be associated with semi-legendary Xia dynasty, which has no written records. Many cylindrical pottery vessels were discovered at the site, but their function was long unknown, but usage marks and lipid analysis revealed they were used to boil water for steaming food.

Interestingly, many of these vessels had soil adhered to their surface, indicating they were placed directly into clay stoves (kamado) and used to support steamers for cooking grains. This suggests that dedicated kitchen spaces began to emerge during this period. By the Han dynasty, evidence of steam cooking in such stoves becomes abundant, and written records from later periods confirm this cooking practice. Even today, traditional rural kitchens in China often have clay stoves where rice and grains are steamed, showing a direct link between ancient and modern food culture. The findings from both the Tianluoshan and Erlitou sites have been highly praised in China for revealing the origins of its enduring culinary traditions.

Pottery research should begin with use and function.

These findings really bring ancient life to light!

In traditional Japanese archaeology, the focus has often been on the form and decoration of excavated pottery, essentially identifying the time and region of origin. But ancient people didn’t make pottery to signal their era or location. They made it to be useful. That’s why I believe research on pottery should begin with questions of use and function. After all, 99.9% of people in the past were ordinary people. Reconstructing their lives is not only important but incredibly fascinating.

History education in school tends to focus on how nations and powers were formed, but history is much more layered. Many different people lived during those same times, even if their lives were not recorded in texts. Archaeology allows us to discover and reconstruct those forgotten or undocumented lives, especially for those in eras without writing.

What inspired you to conduct this research?

I have always fascinated by ruins, artifacts, and Chinese history since I was a child. But it was a vague interest. I initially entered a business faculty in university, but working on an excavation as a part-time job reignited my passion for archaeology. After returning from studying in China, I briefly considered a regular job but realized I would deeply regret abandoning archaeology. So I entered graduate school, and have been in this field ever since.

What makes the study of pottery in archaeology so fascinating?

One of the most touching moments in my research is when my fingers perfectly fit the fingerprints left on the surface of ancient pottery. It is a rare but powerful experience. It feels like reaching across time and touching the lives of those who came before us. My ongoing interest lies in the everyday life and food culture of ordinary people in ancient times, and pottery research is deeply connected to that.

Of course, those people didn’t just eat and farm. They chose crops, cooking tools, and techniques based on their natural and social environments. Our lifestyles today are the result of countless intertwined factors over time. To uncover those paths, I want to keep developing interdisciplinary approaches, with archaeology at the core.