Papyrus in Ancient Egypt
-First, let's go all the way back to the mid-Neolithic era, where early modern humans started settling around the Nile, in Egypt.
1. Papyrus – Egypt, Discovered/used from 6000BC-640CE:
The name for paper in English comes from papyrus, which was a plant that grew
along the Nile and Delta in Egypt in especially large numbers during Egypt’s old,
middle and new Kingdom ages, and even up to Roman Egypt times. Besides being
used for various other items like rope or boxes, strips of the plants’ stems
were laid out in a criss-cross formation, resin was dripped between layers, and
the entire structure was pressed, to give the Egyptians a writing surface to
record information easier for the first time. However, even with a new way to
transport written data, papyrus was still only used mainly for religious texts
and to record important government transactions/information. It was largely unobtainable
to the rest of the common population as the cost to make a significant amount
of this material was unreasonably high, thanks to the complicated process. (Mark)
(Dartmouth)
Legacy: However, with that roadblock comes progress and desire
for advancement. Even though papyrus is now outdated, in favour of the more
convenient sheet of paper, this was the first stepping stone to the final
product we use today. As well, papyrus was instrumental to data recording
throughout not only Egypt, but also Mesopotamia and Europe (Rome), until the
arrival of parchment much later on, around 200CE. (Papyrus: A Brief History)
In that sense, papyrus could be seen as a gateway to better inventions later
on, including what we use now, and a worthy replacement in the meantime, so our
archaeologists can still find writing from ancient times.
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