Papyrus is a thick paper-like material produced from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus, a wetland sedge that was once abundant in the Nile Delta of Egypt. Paper is thin material mainly used for writing upon printing upon or packaging Pith is a light substance that is found in Vascular plants It consists of soft spongy Parenchyma cells and is located in the center of the stem. Papyrus sedge or paper reed ( Cyperus papyrus) is a Monocot belonging to the sedge family Cyperaceae. The family Cyperaceae, or the sedges, is a taxon of monocot Flowering plants that superficially resemble grasses or rushes The Nile Delta ( Arabic: دلتا النيل) is the delta formed in Northern Egypt ( Lower Egypt) where the Nile River spreads This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. Papyrus usually grows 2–3 meters (5–9 ft) tall. Papyrus is first known to have been used in ancient Egypt (at least as far back as the First dynasty), but it was also used throughout the Mediterranean region. Ancient Egypt was an Ancient Civilization in eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now The first dynasty of Ancient Egypt is often combined with the second dynasty under the group title Early Dynastic Period of Egypt. The history of the Mediterranean region is the History of the interaction of the cultures and peoples of the lands surrounding the Mediterranean Sea Ancient Egypt used this plant for boats, mattresses, mats and paper.
Contents |
Etymology
The English word papyrus derives, via Latin, from Greek πάπυρος papyros. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly Greek has a second word for papyrus, βύβλος byblos (said to derive from the name of the Phoenician city of Byblos). Phoenicia ( Phoenician: Phoenician nunsvg|12px|נ]]Phoenician nun Byblos ( Βύβλος) is the Greek name of the Phoenician city Gebal (earlier Gubla) The Greek writer Theophrastus, who flourished during the 4th century BC, uses papuros when referring to the plant used as a foodstuff and bublos for the same plant when used for non-food products, such as cordage, basketry, or a writing surface. Theophrastus ( Greek:; 371 – c 287 BC a Greek native of Eressos in Lesbos, was the successor of Aristotle in the Peripatetic The 4th century BC started the first day of 400 BC and ended the last day of 301 BC. The more specific term βίβλος biblos, which finds its way into English in such words as bibliography, bibliophile, and bible, refers to the inner bark of the papyrus plant. Papyrus is also the etymon of paper, a similar substance.
The plural of papyrus is papyri.
It is often claimed that Egyptians referred to papyrus as pa-per-aa [p3y pr-ˁ3] (lit. Folk etymology is a term used in two distinct ways A commonly held misunderstanding of the origin of a particular word a False etymology. Pr is the hieroglyph for 'house' the floor-plan of a walled building with an open doorway , "that which is of Pharaoh"), apparently denoting that the Egyptian crown owned a monopoly on papyrus production. Pharaoh is the title given in modern parlance to the ancient Egyptian kings of all periods However no actual ancient text using this term is known. In the Egyptian language, papyrus was known by the terms wadj [w3ḏ], tjufy [ṯwfy], and djet [ḏt]. Egyptian is an Afro-Asiatic language most closely related to the Berber, Semitic, Somali and Beja languages Thus, Greek papyros has no known relation to any Egyptian word or phrase.
Manufacture and use
Papyrus is made from the stem of the plant. Syracuse (Siracusa Sicilian: Sarausa, Classical Greek: / transliterated Syrakousai) is a historic City in The outer rind is first stripped off, and the sticky fibrous inner pith is cut lengthwise into thin strips of about 40 cm long. Pith is a light substance that is found in Vascular plants It consists of soft spongy Parenchyma cells and is located in the center of the stem. The strips are then placed side by side on a hard surface with their edges slightly overlapping, and then another layer of strips is laid on top at a right angle. The strips may have been soaked in water long enough for decomposition to begin, perhaps increasing adhesion, but this is not certain. Decomposition (or spoilage) refers to the break down of tissue of a formerly living Organism into simpler forms of matter While still moist, the two layers are hammered together, mashing the layers into a single sheet. The sheet is then dried under pressure. After drying, the sheet of papyrus is polished with some rounded object, possibly a stone or seashell or round hard wood.
To form the long strip that a scroll required, a number of such sheets were united, placed so that all the horizontal fibres parallel with the roll's length were on one side and all the vertical fibres on the other. Normally, texts were first written on the recto, the lines following the fibres, parallel to the long edges of the scroll. Secondarily, papyrus was often reused, writing across the fibres on the verso [1] Pliny the Elder describes the methods of preparing papyrus in his Naturalis Historia. Gaius or Caius Plinius Secundus, ( AD 23 – August 25, AD 79 better known as Pliny the Elder, was an ancient Author Naturalis Historia ( Latin for "Natural History" is an Encyclopedia written Circa AD 77 by Pliny the Elder.
In a dry climate like that of Egypt, papyrus is stable, formed as it is of highly rot-resistant cellulose; but storage in humid conditions can result in molds attacking and destroying the material. Climate encompasses the temperatures humidity rainfall atmospheric particle count and numerous other meteorogical factors in a given region over long periods of Cellulose is an Organic compound with the formula, a Polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to over ten thousand β(1→4 WikipediaManual_of_Style#National_varieties_of_English --> Molds (or In European conditions, papyrus seems only to have lasted a matter of decades; a 200–year-old papyrus was considered extraordinary. Imported papyrus that was once commonplace in Greece and Italy has since deteriorated beyond repair, but papyrus is still being found in Egypt; extraordinary examples include the Elephantine papyri and the famous finds at Oxyrhynchus and Nag Hammadi. Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest The Elephantine Papyri are a collection of ancient Jewish Manuscripts dating from the fifth century BCE. Oxyrhynchus (Ὀξύρρυγχος "sharp-nosed" ancient Egyptian Pr-Medjed; Coptic Pemdje; modern Egyptian Arabic Nag Hammadi ( Arabic نجع حمادي is a city in Upper Egypt. The Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum, containing the library of Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus, Julius Caesar's father-in-law, was preserved by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, but has only been partially excavated. The Villa of the Papyri is a private house in the ancient Roman city of Herculaneum (current commune of Ercolano) Herculaneum (in modern Italian Ercolano) is an ancient Roman town located in the territory of the current commune of Ercolano. Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus was a Statesman of Ancient Rome and the father-in-law of Julius Caesar through his daughter Calpurnia Pisonis Mount Vesuvius (in Italian Monte Vesuvio and in Latin Mons Vesuvius) is an active Stratovolcano east of Naples
In the first centuries BC and AD, papyrus scrolls gained a rival as a writing surface in the form of parchment, which was prepared from animal skins. ' The Book of the Dead' is the common name for the Ancient Egyptian Funerary text known as ' Spells of Coming' (or ' Going') ' Forth By Day' A scroll is a roll of Papyrus, Parchment, or Paper which has been written drawn or painted upon for the purpose of transmitting information or using as Parchment is a thin material made from Calfskin, Sheepskin or goatskin. Sheets of parchment were folded to form quires from which book-form codices were fashioned. A codex ( Latin for block of wood, Book; plural codices) is a book in the format used for modern books with separate pages normally Early Christian writers soon adopted the codex form, and in the Græco-Roman world, it became common to cut sheets from papyrus rolls in order to form codices.
Codices were an improvement on the papyrus scroll as the papyrus was not flexible enough to fold without cracking and a long roll, or scroll, was required in order to create large volume texts. Papyrus had the advantage of being relatively cheap and easy to produce, but it was fragile and susceptible to both moisture and excessive dryness. Unless the papyrus was of good quality, the writing surface was irregular, and the range of media that could be used was also limited.
By AD 800 the use of parchment and vellum had replaced papyrus in many areas, though its use in Egypt continued until it was replaced by more inexpensive paper introduced by Arabs. Parchment is a thin material made from Calfskin, Sheepskin or goatskin. Vellum (from the Old French Vélin for "calfskin" is mammal skin prepared for writing or printing on single pages scrolls codices or books The araB gene Promoter is a bacterial promoter activated by e L-arabinose binding The reasons for this switch include the significantly higher durability of the hide-derived materials, particularly in moist climates, and the fact that they can be manufactured anywhere. The latest certain dates for the use of papyrus are 1057 for a papal decree (typically conservative, all papal "bulls" were on papyrus until 1022) and 1087 for an Arabic document. Papyrus was used as late as the 1100s in the Byzantine Empire, but there are no surviving examples. Although its uses had transferred to parchment, papyrus therefore just overlapped with the use of paper in Europe, which began in the 11th century. Paper is thin material mainly used for writing upon printing upon or packaging
There have been sporadic attempts to revive the manufacture of papyrus during the past 250 years. The Scottish explorer James Bruce experimented in the late eighteenth century with papyrus plants from the Sudan, for papyrus had become extinct in Egypt. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. James Bruce ( December 14, 1730 &ndash April 27, 1794) was a Scottish traveller and Travel writer who spent more than a The 18th century lasted from 1701 to 1800 in the Gregorian calendar, in accordance with the Anno Domini / Common Era numbering system Sudan (officially the Republic of Sudan) ( السودان al-Sūdān is a country in northeastern Africa. Also in the eighteenth century, a Sicilian named Saverio Landolina manufactured papyrus at Syracuse, where papyrus plants had continued to grow in the wild. Sicily ( Italian and Sicilian: Sicilia) is an autonomous region of Italy. Syracuse (Siracusa Sicilian: Sarausa, Classical Greek: / transliterated Syrakousai) is a historic City in The modern technique of papyrus production used in Egypt for the tourist trade was developed in 1962 by the Egyptian engineer Hassan Ragab using plants that had been reintroduced into Egypt in 1872 from France. Year 1962 ( MCMLXII) was a Common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1872 ( MDCCCLXXII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year Both Sicily and Egypt have centres of limited papyrus production.
Papyrus is still used by communities living in the vicinity of swamps, to the extent that rural householders derive up to 75% of their income from swamp goods (Maclean et al. 2003b; c). Particularly in East and Central Africa, people harvest papyrus, which is used to manufacture items that are sold or used locally. Examples include baskets, hats, fish traps, trays or winnowing mats and floor mats. Papyrus is also used to make roofs, ceilings, rope and fences, or as fuel (Maclean 2003c). Although increasingly, alternatives such as eucalyptus are available, papyrus is still used as fuel. Eucalyptus (From Greek ευκάλυπτος meaning "well covered" is a diverse Genus of Trees (and a few shrubs the members of which
Documents written on papyrus
The word for the material papyrus is also used to designate documents written on sheets of it, often rolled up into scrolls. The plural for such documents is papyri. Historical papyri are given identifying names—generally the name of the discoverer, first owner or institution where it is kept—and numbered, such as "Papyrus Harris I". Papyrus Harris I is also known as the Great Harris Papyrus and (less accurately simply the Harris Papyrus (though there are a number of other papyri in the Harris Often an abbreviated form is used such as "pHarris I".
See also
- Pliny the Elder
- Papyrology
- Papyrus sanitary pad
- For Egyptian papyri:
- Other papyri:
- The papyrus plant in Egyptian art
Other ancient writing materials:
- Palm leaf manuscript India
- Amate Mesoamerica
- Paper invented in Han Dynasty China
- Ostracon
- Writing boards
- Wax tablets
- Clay tablets
References
- H. Idris Bell and T.C. Skeat, 1935. "Papyrus and its uses" (British Museum pamphlet). Gaius or Caius Plinius Secundus, ( AD 23 – August 25, AD 79 better known as Pliny the Elder, was an ancient Author Papyrology is the study of ancient literature correspondence legal archives etc A papyrus sanitary pad, or Makapad, is a Sanitary napkin made from Papyrus, a natural material This List of Ancient Egyptian Papyri includes some of the better known individual papyri written in hieroglyphs hieratic demotic or in Greek The Elephantine Papyri are a collection of ancient Jewish Manuscripts dating from the fifth century BCE. The "Magdalen" papyrus was purchased in Luxor, Egypt in 1901 by Reverend Charles Bousfield Huleatt (1863-1908 who identified the Greek fragments as Nag Hammadi library (popularly known as The Gnostic Gospels) is a collection of early Christian Gnostic texts discovered near the A New Testament papyrus is a copy of a portion of the New Testament made on Papyrus. The Strasbourg papyrus is a Papyrus made of six fragments on a single leaf conserved at the Strasbourg National University Library cataloged Gr Palmette also called anthemion (from the Greek ανθεμιον a flower is an artistic motif based on the fan-shaped leaves of a Palm tree. Writing material refers to the materials that provide the surfaces on which humans use Writing instruments to inscribe writings Palm leaf manuscripts are Manuscripts made out of dried palm leaves Amatl (āmatl amate or papel amate) is a form of Paper that was manufactured in Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. Paper is thin material mainly used for writing upon printing upon or packaging The Han Dynasty ( 206 BC–220 AD followed the Qin Dynasty and preceded the Three Kingdoms in China. An ostracon ( Greek: ostrakon, plural ostraka) is a piece of Pottery (or stone usually broken off from a Vase or other A wax tablet ( tabula) is a Tablet made of wood and covered with a layer of Wax. Small tablets made out of clay were used from 5500 BC Tărtăria tablets and later from 4th millennium BC onwards as a writing medium in Sumerian The British Museum is a Museum of human history and culture in London.
- Bierbrier, Morris Leonard, ed. 1986. Papyrus: Structure and Usage. British Museum Occasional Papers 60, ser. ed. Anne Marriott. London: British Museum Press.
- Černý, Jaroslav. Jaroslav Černý, (1898-1970 was a Czech Egyptologist. Biography Jaroslav Černý was born on 22 August 1898 in Pilsen in Austro-Hungary 1952. Paper and Books in Aancient Egypt: An Inaugural Lecture Delivered at University College London, 29 May 1947. Events 363 - Roman Emperor Julian defeats the Sassanid army in the Battle of Ctesiphon, under the walls of the Year 1947 ( MCMXLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. London: H. K. Lewis. (Reprinted Chicago: Ares Publishers Inc. , 1977).
- Langdon, S. 2000. Papyrus and its Uses in Modern Day Russia, Vol. 1, pp. 56-59.
- Leach, Bridget, and William John Tait. 2000. "Papyrus". In Ancient Egyptian Materials and Technology, edited by Paul T. Nicholson and Ian Shaw. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 227–253. Thorough technical discussion with extensive bibliography.
- Leach, Bridget, and William John Tait. 2001. "Papyrus". In The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, edited by Donald Bruce Redford. Vol. 3 of 3 vols. Oxford, New York, and Cairo: Oxford University Press and The American University in Cairo Press. 22–24.
- Parkinson, Richard Bruce, and Stephen G. J. Quirke. 1995. Papyrus. Egyptian Bookshelf. London: British Museum Press. General overview for a popular reading audience.
External links
- Leuven Homepage of Papyrus Collections
- Papyrus Institute: Homepage of the company founded by Dr. Hassan Ragab.
- Complete List of Greek NT Papyri
- Ancient Egypt papyrus collection and stories behind each scene
- Ancient Egyptian Papyrus - Aldokkan
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic