The Printed Word The earliest books were written on tablets of wood or pieces of bark. In Greeceand Rome, the tablets of woodwere covered with wax,…

The Printed Word The earliest books were written on tablets of wood or pieces of bark. In Greeceand Rome, the tablets of woodwere covered with wax, and writing was impressed upon them with a small stick called “stylus” . These tablets were held together on one side with thin strips of leather or metal rings. In Assyria and Babyloniaclay tablets were used for writing and the words were drawn with a piece of wood. After baking, the tablets were kept on shelves, just like books are kept today. Although the clay tablets didn’t look very beautiful, they were long-lasting and some of them survived until the present day. The earliest books of the ancient world were written on papyrus and skins of young animals. These books took the form of a long strip, rolled from one cylinder to another. These writings were known to the Romans as volumen from which comes the word volume. Though paper has been known inChina since the first century, the secret of papermaking came toEurope much later.