The development of an advanced civilisation is directly linked to the emergence of writing. From cuneiform to hieroglyphics, writing was used for a wide variety of tasks in a large society, such as administration, jurisprudence, religion or prophaganda.
The emergence of literature, poetry, philosophy, theatre or science is inconceivable without writing, as it transmits knowledge to future generations.
From antiquity to the Middle Ages, writing materials were mainly papyrus, animal skins or wax tablets. Paper first emerged in China and gradually replaced traditional writing materials in Central Europe only in the late Middle Ages.