Clay-eaters: A brief history of geophagy
This talk collates recorded instances of geophagy across human history and in the animal kingdom, detailing cases involving Taoist magic, syncretic religious sites in Central America, parrots who may or may not have indigestion, and the ancient physician Galen, who stockpiled terra sigillata from Lemnos in AD167. In early Western anthropological reports, geophagy was often discredited as ‘primitive’ or ‘debased’ behaviour, but this talk calls for another look at clay eaters across cultures, detailing the ways in which earth has been used as folk medicine, famine prevention, and as a natural dietary supplement for centuries.
Jennifer Lucy Allan is a writer and broadcaster. Her first book, The Foghorn’s Lament was published in 2021, on sound, memory and the coast. She is a presenter on BBC Radio 3’s long running music show Late Junction, and has written for various outlets on music and culture over the last 15 years. Her most recent book Clay: A Human History was published in 2024.
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