Before the invention of paper, written words were preserved on fabric in the form of scrolls. The Chinese are credited with inventing paper around 105 c.e. Historians note that this date was chosen somewhat subjectively, as early experiments in the process of papermaking probably stretched over a long period of time before the process was perfected. No records exist that indicate how the Chinese first made paper, but it is believed that this early paper was made by pouring fibrous pulp onto flat cloth-covered molds, then drying it—essentially the same way paper is produced today. Once the pulp had dried, an interlocking matrix of fibers created the paper. Early forms of paper were not as well processed as modern paper products. In fact, early forms of paper had more in common with the fabrics they replaced than with modern paper. They were coarse in nature, but they did lie flat. This quality made it possible for the first real books to be produced.
