ASSIGNMENT NO.

9 WH-44
Due: September 28, 2015 Paz, Sheen Claudette C.
3 – AB Communication

EVOLUTION OF INVENTIONS:
PAPER
Paper was invented in ancient China
during the Han dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD) and
spread slowly to the west via the Silk Road.
Papermaking and manufacturing in Europe was
started by Muslims living on the Iberian
Peninsula, (today's Portugal and Spain)
and Sicilyin the 10th century, and slowly spread
to Italy and Southern
France reaching Germany by 1400. Earlier, other
paper-like materials were in use
including papyrus, parchment, palm
leaves and vellum, but all of these were derived
from materials which were expensive or in
limited supply, or required extensive hand-
processing to produce a satisfactory finish. Paper,
being made from wood or rags, could be
produced anywhere, and once large scale
production techniques had been developed it
could be manufactured in almost any quantity at moderate cost.
In medieval Europe, the hitherto
handcraft of papermaking
was mechanized by the use of
waterpower, the first water papermill in
the Iberian Peninsula having been built in
the Portuguese city of Leiria in 1411, and
other processes. The rapid expansion of
European paper production was truly
enhanced by the invention of the printing
press and the beginning of the Printing
Revolution in the 15th century.
The word "paper" is
etymologically derived
from papyros, Ancient Greek for
the Cyperus papyrus plant. Papyrus is a thick, paper-like material produced from the pith of the Cyperus
papyrus plant which was used in ancient Egypt and other Mediterranean cultures forwriting long before
the making of paper in China.[4] Papyrus however are plants dried and woven, while paper is
manufactured from fibers whose properties have been changed by maceration or disintegration.
Out of all of these, paper must have had the most significant impact on the world's development
as we know it, for it played a crucial role in facilitating the sending of messages across the globe.

Source: http://gbtimes.com/life/world-changing-chinese-inventions-paper
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_paper