History of Writing Communication

The history of writing tools is as age old as mankind itself. From very early on in human development, man would appropriate tools immediately available to him including rock face, bark and animal skins. Of course such materials were as ephemeral as they were accessible and very few of these examples left. In fact, the first durable materials for print were invented by the Chinese in …. BC, a technology later brought to Europe in the 12th Century by Marco Polo. Nevertheless, writing was only confined to a very small minority of the population. Not only was the literacy rate extremely poor, but actually reproducing the written word was a task that could take scholars years to complete. As such, in both Asia and Europe, print was confined to only religious text or official documents. This changed radically, however, with the advent of the printing press in 1452 by Gutenberg. Moveable type-face revolutionized writing, which, combined with the Protestant Reformation and the religious upheaval in Europe spurred a flurry of text and print reproduction that was capable of reaching the common man.

Sources:
Bellis, Mary. “JoHannes Gutenberg and the Printing Press. Inventors. About.Com. http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blJohannesGutenberg.htm
http://communication.ucsd.edu/bjones/Books/printech.html