This West African Dish Is 3,000 Years Old — And the World Still Eats It

The 3,500-year-old West African swallow and soup still eaten today was found trapped inside Nok pottery in central Nigeria. Chemist Julie Dunn at the University of Bristol analyzed over 450 shards from Ifana and identified seven plant fats in one set of homes, the most varied plant profile ever seen in ancient pottery. The film traces pearl millet, yam, cowpea and foraged greens into the starch-and-sauce logic that has lasted 140 generations.