What is the difference between papyrus and paper?
Papyrus is a product of the water reed of the same name found along the banks of the Nile River in Egypt. It was probably made from the outer skin since the center is pithy. Layers of the reed were laid on a stone slab side by side and the next layer was laid on top of the first at right angles to those on the bottom. The whole mass was then moistened with water, pressed, and dried, resulting in a laminated mass. The dried material was hammered to make it more compact and rubbed with a smooth stone to produce a writing surface. Samples of papyrus have been found dating back to 3,500 B.C. Greeks and Romans also wrote on it, and its use persisted until about the 10th century A.D. when overproduction or disease wiped out the crops. Papyrus has been reintroduced, and the Center for Papyrus Research near Cairo, Egypt, makes small quantities using the old methods. Paper developed separately in China around 200 BCE. It differs from papyrus in that the plants have been beaten to separate the f
