Common Writing Materials of The Middle Ages
In western civilisations, early use of papyrus was soon replaced by parchment made by treating animal hide. A wide variety of parchments from various animal skins, with different texture, quality and hue were widely used for codices, religious and cultural texts. This was replaced by the advent and increasing access and availability of paper.
In eastern civilisations such as India, the principal writing media from the time of Christ were birch bark or bhurjapatra (Sanskrit) and dried palm leaves. The use of paper began only after the 10th century AD. However birch bark and palm leaf continue to be used even today on a limited scale in a rural milieu for the use of horoscopes, wedding invitations and other cultural uses.
In China, the early material was animal bones, later silk, bamboo and wooden slips, until the 2nd century when paper was invented.
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