The Ancient Egyptians were creative. We have lots to thank them for. They made lots of new things. One of the most important things is papyrus.
Papyrus is a reed. It grows in marshes. The Egyptians lived near the river Nile. There was lots of papyrus growing there. It was called the gift of the Nile! They found lots of uses for it.
They used papyrus to make paper. They called the paper papyrus, too. It is the oldest paper in the world. Do you use paper in school? If you use paper, you should say thank you to the Egyptians!
They used the triangular stalk of the plant. First, they cut the stems into little pieces. Then they overlapped the pieces.
They soaked the pieces in water. The water stuck them together. Then they mashed the pieces. They let the pieces dry. Then they used a hammer to make the paper flat. The paper was flexible. It was easy to write on.
Papyrus took a long time to make. It could not be wasted. People had to learn how to write first. They learned to write on wood. Then they were ready for papyrus.
It was not used for all writing. It was used for poems. It was used for hymns. It was used for letters. It was used for literature.
Egyptians used papyrus to make lots of things. They made shoes. They made rope. They made clothes. They made chairs.
They even tried to make boats. That did not work well. The papyrus let water in. The boats sank. They used wood instead.
Papyrus was a gift to the Egyptians. It changed the history of the world. Would we have paper without the Egyptians?