Possible leafy vegetables in prehistoric southern Vietnamese cuisine with a distinctive biomolecular profile

•Eight prehistoric pottery samples from southern Vietnam exhibit a distinct lipid profile.•Organic residue analysis of pottery identified lipids of unknown leafy vegetables.•Waxy organic compounds identified suggest a combination of terrestrial and aquatic plants.•Terrestrial and aquatic plants were used as leafy vegetables in prehistoric Vietnam.•Results suggest continuity of a prehistoric culinary practice in Mekong Delta.