• Ink. The Chinese invented 'Indian Ink', a mixture of soot from pine smoke and lamp oil mixed with the gelatin of donkey skin and musk. By the year 400, a stable form of ink consisted of iron salts, nutgalls, and gum. It became a formula for centuries.
• Paper. Early Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, and Hebrews used papyrus and parchment papers around 2000BCE. Wood-fiber paper was invented in China in the year 105.
• Writing implements. Romans created a reed-pen from the hollow tubular stems of marsh grasses.

Some of the first tools for writing were the hunting club and the sharpened stone. Cave dwellers scratched pictures onto the walls of cave dwellings. It represented daily events such as planting crops or hunting victories.

With time, systematised symbols were developed fro...