The English word "paper" is derived from the word "papyrus", an Egyptian word that originally meant "that which belongs to the house". At about the same time as the ancient Egyptians moved from prehistory to history by developing a written language, they discovered the need for a medium other than stone to transcribe upon. They found this in their papyrus plant, a triangular reed which symbolized ancient Lower Egypt. It was light, strong, thin, durable and easy to carry, and for thousands of years, there was nothing better for the purpose of writing. The earliest extant documented papyrus comes from Egypt's 1st Dynasty, but we believe it may have been used as early as 4,000BC. Its use continued until about the 11th century AD. Papyrus was also used for building chairs, tables, and other furniture as well as for mats, baskets, boxes, sandals, utensils, rope and boats. Furthermore, the papyrus root was a source of food, medicine and perfume. Papyrus was, and continues today to be made from the papyrus reed that grows in freshwater marshes along the river Nile. The plant grows to a height of about ten feet. After harvesting, the outer fibers are peeled away, and the core of the stalk is sliced into very thin strips. The best of these strips comes from the center. These strips are next soaked in water to remove the sugar content. Next, the strips are pounded and the water drained away, after which they are placed side by side horizontally. A second set of strips are placed vertically. Next, this raw papyrus sheet is pounded once again, and left under a heavy weight to dry for approximately six days. The remaining sugar seals the strips together. Finally, after drying the surface of the sheet is polished to a smooth finish by rubbing.

For practical purposes, the papyrus was limited to a standard size. For longer documents, these pages were joined to create a papyrus roll (scroll). However, in later periods, we also find papyrus books, called codex. There were many different kinds and qualities of papyrus. Each type was used for a different purpose.

Usually, the ancient Egyptians and others only wrote on one side of the papyrus. Egyptian rulers realizing the importance of Papyrus, made its production a state of monopoly, and guarded the secret of Papyrus. Soon, Egyptians were even exporting their papyrus "paper", though outside of Egypt, not much of it has survived. However, Papyri have also been found in Asia and Europe

The fact that so many of the papryi are found among the dust-heaps of ancient cities is a valuable indication of their general significance. Furthermore, in Egypt, papyrus was recycled in the form of mummy cartonnage. This cartonnage, at least in certain periods of Egyptian history, consisted of several layers of papyrus. Actually, the largest percentage of papyrus that has survived was written during theGreco-Roman Period of Egyptian history and afterwards. The first recorded purchase of papyri by European visitors to Egypt was in 1778.

The Egyptian placed an embargo on exporting papyrus at the end of the 7th century AD led the way to parchment, and later on to 'modern' paper, the successor to the papyrus. 'Ground' paper was invented in China in the second century AD, but reached western Asia only after the Muslim conquest of Turkistan. Hence, Arabs introduced a process for making pulp paper, which they learned from Chinese prisoners. Though this new paper was less durable than papyrus, it was also easier and far less expensive to make. Gradually, the Egyptians abandoned the production of Papyrus paper and neglected the cultivation of their papyrus plantations. Eventually, papyrus itself disappeared from the Egyptian landscape. Papyrus making was not revived until around 1969. Unfortunately, the ancient Egyptians left little evidence about the manufacturing process.