From Cave Walls to Coloring Pages by Brylie Hendricks
The bright yellow sun and luscious green grass colored on a piece of paper was my favorite thing to draw. What if we did not have paper though? What would you use instead to draw on? We take many things for granted today because we no longer must worry about whether there will be more or not for us. Knowing the history, the use, and memories that paper holds is important to remember so we are not too greedy over paper.
There was a time when paper did not exist, and humans had to find different ways to draw and express themselves. Most of us know about cave drawings where they would create colors to draw typically animals. These animals, now extinct, that they would draw were mammoths, woolly rhinoceroses, and cave lions (Clottes). Similar to how some use paper today, using crayons to draw what their heart desires. Using these materials to carve onto the walls of the cave is the same as how we use paper today. Using a pencil to carve into the material. Cave walls were their paper back then. Using the walls to remember experiences such as how we use paper to remember information. Today there is paper everywhere while they had cave walls everywhere making it a convenient surface to use. However, I have always wondered if this was the only canvas they would use? According to the Museum of Paper Making, different places around the world would use materials such as papyrus plants, parchment, palm leaves, tapa, tree bark, and clay tablets. The drawings they would create on these types of materials were not just simple artwork. This was their way to be able to communicate with each other. Having these drawings helped us to be able to understand some of what living back then was like. Personally, I do not think I would be able to draw on these materials as I love color. It would be like when my favorite-colored pencil would break so instead I left that portion of my drawing colorless. Color, however, was not their issue but rather how hard it was to carve on plants and clay as well as how they could not transfer their drawings. To use these materials to write on, it was a long, expensive process. This led to Ts’ai Lun deciding to create cheaper and more convenient materials to write on. Ts’ai Lun originally created paper in AD 105 for many reasons. Ts’ai Lun thought it was important for people to be able to learn. Creating paper did this by making knowledge and culture more accessible for everyone. I honestly agree with Lun on this. Being able to spread our knowledge is important as we do not want to live in a bubble where we only know what is going on around us. With how important culture is for everyone as well as how nice it is to be able to see how others celebrate and live their lives. Having the spread of knowledge and culture allows us to be able to learn about traditions and celebrate them and not have to necessarily live in that area. Wanting to make this change Ts’ai Lun made paper by mixing mulberry bark, hemp, and rags with water, creating a pulp, he then pressed out the liquid and hung the thin mat to dry (American Forest & Paper Association). Just like that he created an easier and more convenient material to draw on, but that was only the beginning of the paper industry we know today.
I now see paper everywhere and probably even use it daily. Back when Ts’ai Lun created paper it was rare and still expensive but not compared to the other materials. Due to this it was used when needed, such as for government records and religious text. Today we mass produce paper and use it for almost everything such as books, paper towels, food wrappers, and many other daily uses. Being able to use paper whenever we would like has a great effect that many do not notice. We are now able to spread knowledge, history, and religion in a much easier way which has affected our communities. Having the ability to teach kids by showing them and being able to find others who believe in the same things as you do would not be as simple if we did not have paper.
I remember when I was younger hanging up signs on poles around the neighborhood saying to call if they needed a babysitter. Doing this got my name out there and even got me some jobs. Spreading information is way easier to do with paper as all I have to do is hit a print button. The paper we see and use today is not created exactly how Ts’ai Lun did, but it is similar in a way. We make it today using chemical wood pulp, semichemical, and de-inked wastepaper (Britt). This made the creation of paper a lot cheaper, but it still took a little time to press and dry the pulp. It is interesting to think about how much time it takes to create a single piece of paper, but if my writing or drawing is not perfect, I crumble it up and throw it away. It is easier to get rid of something than it is to make it. In need of making the paper process faster, in 1817 the first ever paper machine was built in the United States (Museum of Paper Making). This changed papermaking forever by speeding up the pressing and drying process. Now we get to use paper without worrying that we might run out. This is a luxury that not even I realized and creates childhood memories for a lot of people.
Sitting outside or at dinner and coloring a coloring page was one of my favorite things to do as a child. Especially with my little sister, I would turn it into a competition of who could color in the lines better, which I always won. Sitting on the carpet at school while the teacher was reading us a book was one of my favorite times in class. These childhood memories I have all involve paper. I never thought about it at the time, as I was just a kid having fun, but thinking about it now, we all have a memory that involves paper in some way. I remember the first time I made a paper airplane for science class back in elementary school. I was never good at making them, but it created a whole class memory using paper to learn about science. Paper is found useful today for just about anything and gives not only children, but also adults a way to express themselves. Having paper to be able to write, create, and color is something to not take for granted as kids back before paper was created never got to color in their drawings on the cave walls. For me, without realizing it, paper had to be one of my favorite things not only as a child, but also today.
Growing up I increasingly learned to appreciate what I obtain in life as not everyone receives the same experiences. Back in the day they did not have access to paper, so they had to use difficult materials to create their art and express themselves. This did work for a while, until there became a need for more convenient and cheaper ways to write and draw. This gave Ts’ai Lun the idea to mix different materials thus creating what we know as paper. As the need for paper grew we invented a paper machine, making it quicker and much cheaper to form paper. With paper being able to be mass produced we now use it daily, forming many childhood memories for me that I did not even realize paper was a part of. Learning the history, use, and memories paper holds reminds me to not take for granted the things I get to use today without worry of running out. I give paper a 4 out of 5 stars.
Works Cited
American Forest & Paper Association. “The History of Paper: American Forest and Paper Association.” The History of Paper | American Forest and Paper Association, www.afandpa.org/history-paper. Accessed 4 Sept. 2025.
Britt, Kenneth. “Paper Properties and Uses.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 10 Jan. 2020, www.britannica.com/technology/papermaking/Paper-grades. Accessed 04 September 2025
Clothes, Jean. “Cave Art.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 10 Apr. 2009, www.britannica.com/art/cave-art. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
Museum of Paper Making. History of Papermaking around the World, paper.gatech.edu/sites/default/files/2021-04/History of Papermaking Around the World.pdf. Accessed 4 Sept. 2025.