In ancient times, people used to write on clay stone tablets and with time, they started writing on animal skins. It is believed that ancient Egyptians started using the first type of paper form as early as 3500 BC. This type of paper was made using strips of the well-known papyrus reeds.
They did this by making the strips damp, and then pressing them into long sheets. Incidentally, the modern word paper is derived from the word ‘papyrus’.
Despite the invention, it was not as close as the modern paper. A paper that closely resembles what is nowadays used is believed to have originated in China.
Paper Products
Around the year 105 AD, a Chinese scholar known as Ts’ai Lun became the first person to use paper. It is also believed that Ts’ai Lun got the idea for making paper by observing a wasp making its nest using chewed pieces of bamboo, which the wasp later transformed to a flat sheet. Later, Ts’ai Lun made a combination of bamboo and water, which was then made flat and dried under the sun. This product was later made into paper. The Chinese ensured that their secret was well guarded but in AD 751, there was war between some Arabs located in Central Asia and the Chinese army. The Arabs were victorious and captured Chinese soldiers who knew how to make paper. Later on, the Arabs spread the paper making technique to Europe.