chapter 5

Papyrus was a paper like material made from reeds that develop in marshy areas along the Nile River, located in Egypt.  The workers harvested the long reeds and then cut them into sections.  Then they soaked them into water to get to the center of the reed.  The sheets are tied together and rolled around a wooden rod to form a scroll.  Papyrus was the least expensive writing surface during this time, but it decays over time so documents written on this surface are not in existence anymore.  In the dry climate of Egypt, the papyrus does dry, however.  Okay, so with all of this information that I read, I failed to see why these were so important.  I thought maybe they were important for some religious reason, but nothing I read hinted to that.  Why was it an important piece of writing surface? Why does it matter that much to be put into a book? This, to me, needs further discussion.