Paper requires the breaking-down and reconstitution of plant fibers. It is often dated to A.D. 105 and linked to Ts’ai Lun, of the court of Emperor Han Ho Ti of China.
It soon replaced more primitive writing surfaces like stone, wood blocks, clay tablets, wax and sheets of laminated bark or matted papyrus stalks. When cellulose fibers are separated from noncellulosic components of plants, beaten to a pulp, briefly suspended in water and spread onto a screen, the fibers bond together to form a sheet. A piece of paper is a plant re-engineered for specifically human purposes.
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