Paper Making through the Ages

Paper through the Ages

In this day and age, we make paper using the wood from trees. but is that the only way? Is that how it was always done?

Ancient Egypt

 Ancient Egyptians are the first people known to use the material Papyrus. It is a material similar to thick paper and was used as a writing surface. 

It was made using the Pith of a Papyrus Plant, which is a wetland sedge. It was later on discovered that Papyrus was also used through the Mediterranean region, and by the Kingdom of Kush (an ancient kingdom in Nubia, located at the confluences of the Blue Nile, White Nile and River Atbara in what is now Sudan and South Sudan.) 

Papyrus was first manufactured in Egypt as far back as the fourth millenium BCE. The earliest archaeologoical evidence of Papyrus was excavated in 2012 and 2013 in the Eyptian harbour Wadi-al-jarf, located near the Red Sea.

China

Paper was invented by the Ancient Chinese between the year 71 B.C and 21 A.D. Initially silk fibre was used to create paper: it was processed until being turned into uniform mass. The first paper making was documented in Chine during the Eastern Harn period. (25-220 C.E) During the 8th century Chinese paper making spread to the Islamic world.

Samarkand

The art of paper making, brought to Samarkand by the Chinese in the 7th century. Samarkand paper is made from Mulberry fibre. Today, Konigil, a village near Samarkand has the "Meros" paper mill, founded by the well-known masters, the Mukhtarov brothers.

Religion

Religion-based battles and invasions, caused other religions to steal the recipe for paper. Do you know what the original bible was made out of? The answer is: Sheepskin

Paper Making in New Zealand

In New Zealand, our paper is made in the Kinleith pulp and paper mill, and is made out of wood pulp. Once the paper has been made, it is rolled and cut to size.

How we made our own Archimedes Screw

Using three slim long cans, tubing and tape, we made an Archimedes screw. We taped the three cans together, and attached the tubing in a spiral form along the side of the cans. We then turned the contraption clockwise, and water travelled up the tube and into the other bucket.

We made sure the water was hot so it softened the tubing. I think we could've improved it if we had added some sort of handle so we didn't have to spin the whole thing to get the water in the other bucket.