Although much of this was not new to me, it really helped to read it and remind me of the sheer scale of the papyrus products industry in the ancient world, and its importance. This was the section where I was most at home, although, slightly embarrassingly, I did not know previously that the ancient Egyptians made use of papyrus bundles as life jackets, or at least had not remembered it. The book begins by broadly discussing papyrus’ role in history and its importance in the ancient world. I certainly got the sense that Gaudet is an expert on his subject, whilst the book still managed to maintain a certain conversational style by use of anecdotes to introduce the different chapters. The writing style is a fusion of specialist knowledge with populist accessibility and that, I feel, is pitched exactly right, as it allows the general reader in whilst still being authoritative. So I came to this book hoping to find out more about this extraordinary plant which features rather large in Egyptology, and learn more about the ecological side of it which is really outside my area of expertise. I’m not an ecologist, although I’ve done a little crossover work in the landscape of ancient Egypt and palaeobotany, and I understand the fundamentals of ecosystems, how they work, and why they’re important. I’m an Egyptologist an ancient historian-cum-archaeologist with a specialised knowledge of ancient Egypt, and a broader knowledge of other areas of history (in my case, the ancient Mediterranean and Near East, Early Modern western Europe, and the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic). Illustration credits.Ecologist and writer John Gaudet, who has spent decades studying the papyrus plant, here explains why the plant was so prevalent in the ancient Egyptian mind, why it was crucial to the rise of civilisation in the Nile valley, how its multiplicity of uses made it a global industry, and how swamps and wetlands across the world are fading away, and with it the unique marsh-dwelling culture of those who live there, and how papyrus can help re-establish a healthy, balanced ecosystem.Ī little on where I’m coming from, in regards to this book. Size matters : the invention of the modern book. Joining the folds : the invention of the codex. Books before the book : papyrus scrolls and wax tablets. Lithography, photography, and modern book printing. Etching a sketch : copperplate printing and the Renaissance. Ex Oriente lux : woodcut comes to the West. Out of sorts : typesetting meets the industrial revolution. Johannes Gutenberg and the invention of movable type. Stroke of genius : the arrival of writing. From Silk Road to paper trail : paper goes global. Hidebound : the grisly invention of parchment. A clean sheet : the invention of papyrus.
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