Leonardo's wood charring method predates Japanese practice

Leonardo's wood charring method predates Japanese practice(arstechnica.com)

1 points by perpil 137 days ago | 2 comments

bell-cot 137 days ago |

Not an expert - but I'd think that ancient people (at least in non-arid climates) would have noticed that the more-charred part of the wood in an old campfire did not crumble and rot, even over years.

perpil 137 days ago | |

Agreed, maybe a forest fire or lightning strike might have made it more obvious that charring preserved. Charcoal in a campfire could have easily disappeared in the next fire.

They do give Leonardo a lot of credit for a single sentence, but it may be the first documented instance of this charring technique.