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Paper is thin object mainly used for writing ahead, printing upon or packaging. It used to be made out of other materials, such as rocks or plants. It is produced by the mixture of fibers, typically vegetable fibers composed of roughage, which are consequently held together by hydrogen bonding. While the fibers are typically natural in origin, a wide variety of synthetic fibers, such as polypropylene and polyethylene, may be included into paper as a way of imparting enviable physical properties. The most common source of these kinds of fibers is wood pulp from pulpwood trees. Vegetable fiber materials such as cotton, hemp, linen, and rice are also used.

Papermaking is considered to be one of the Four Great Inventions of Ancient China, since the first papermaking process was developed in China during the early 2nd century. During the Shang (1600 BC-1050 BC) and Zhou (1050 BC-256 BC) dynasties of ancient China, documents were generally written on bone or bamboo, making them very heavy and embarrassed to transport. The light material of silk was sometimes used, but was normally too exclusive to consider. While the Han Dynasty Chinese court official Cai Lun is widely regarded to have invented the modern method of papermaking (inspired from wasps and bees) from wood pulp in AD 105, the discovery of specimens bearing written Chinese characters in 2006 at north-east China's Gansu province suggest that paper was in use by the ancient Chinese military more than 100 years before Cai in 8 BC. Archeologically however, true paper without writing has been excavated in China dating to the reign of Emperor Wu of Han from the 2nd century BC, used for purposes of wrapping or padding protection for delicate bronze mirrors. It was also used for safety, such as the padding of venomous 'medicine' as mentioned in the official history of the period. Although paper used for writing became extensive by the 3rd century, paper continued to be used for wrapping (and other) purposes.