in Egypt, was later replaced by parchment made by treating animal hide, a process starting in the second century B.C. In western civilizations, papyrus, which originated in 3,000 B.C.E. Knotted strings were used by many other cultures such as the ancient Chinese and native Hawaiians, but such practices should not be confused with the quipu, which refers only to the Andean device.Ĭommon writing materials of the Middle Ages The Quipu or talking knots were recording devices fashioned from strings historically used by a number of cultures in the region of Andean South America. The archaeological record contains either example of these materials used for drawing or writing or it has indirect indications of their use for writing, drawing, or tallying. Unglazed pottery shards were used almost as a kind of scratch paper, as ostraka, for tax receipts, and, in Athens, to record the individual nominations of Greek leaders for ostracism. Stone tablets, clay and wooden writing tablets, and wax-covered wooden tablets are some of the first specialized configurations of materials in flat surfaces specifically for writing. Wax offers another novel combination of advantage: a reusable surface, easily inscribed and erased, and easy combination with materials like wood that give it durability. Unglazed pottery can readily accept inscription even after firing. Clay introduces the useful combination of extreme ease of making the inscription with the potential for rendering it fairly permanent. Lead sheets were used for curse tablets, as well as personal correspondence.Ĭloth probably shared its mode of use with animal skins. But foils or sheets of soft metals like lead were usable. The very hardness of many metals that made them useful also made it an inconvenient material for many kinds of writing. The value of metal for useful implements may have made it less than useful for practical writing and drawing. Among the barks of trees, birch bark is very well suited for use as a writing material and was so used both in Northern Europe and among native peoples in North America.įour other classes of material were sometimes used for writing: clay, wax, cloth, and metal. Animal hides also had potential for use as a material for writing or drawing, although the drawings and writings may have been decorative or to convey status or religious meaning.
Such materials did not take a great deal of preparation for their use for drawing or writing. Knotted ropes and similar materials were also used for tallies. Tally sticks have been found made of wood and of bone. Another precursor was tally sticks used to record the count of objects or the passage of discrete units of time ( days). With the invention of wood-pulp paper, the cost of writing material began a steady decline.īecause drawing preceded writing, the first remains of writing materials are the stone walls of the caves on which the famous images were drawn. Parchment, using sheepskins left after the wool was removed for cloth, was sometimes cheaper than papyrus, which had to be imported outside Egypt. Writing seems to have become more widespread with the invention of papyrus in Egypt.
Writing materials are often paired with specific types of writing instruments. The gross characterization of writing materials is by the material constituting the writing surface (for example, paper) and the number, size, and usage and storage configuration of multiple surfaces (for example, paper sheets) into a single object (for example, a spiral notebook). Building material on which writings or drawings are produced are not included. The same materials can also be used for symbolic or representational drawings. Writing material refers to the materials that provide the surfaces on which humans use writing instruments to inscribe writings. JSTOR ( June 2019) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message).Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. This article needs additional citations for verification.