Papyrus

ancient Egypt · writing · plants · history

Plant power source. Papyrus was made from the pith, or spongy center, of the Cyperus papyrus plant that grew in Egyptian swamps and wetlands. People would slice the plant into strips and press them together to create a writing surface.

Better than paper. Papyrus was much easier to write on than stone or clay tablets and could be rolled into long scrolls, making it an early form of a book. People could carry these scrolls around without too much trouble.

Ancient technology. For thousands of years, papyrus was the main way Egyptians recorded important information like religious texts, government records, and stories. Without papyrus, we wouldn't know nearly as much about ancient Egypt today.

Scroll design. Sheets of papyrus were joined side by side and then rolled up into scrolls that could be unrolled to read. Some scrolls were incredibly long, containing entire books worth of writing.