a common type of manuscript was the scroll. it is a long sheet that is rolled up. the sheet could have been made of papyrus (made by the egyptians, by weaving the inner stems of the papyrus plant and then hammering them together), or parchment or vellum (very thin animal skin, first used by the ancient greeks), or paper (made from plant fibers, invented by the chinese). manuscripts of this kind lasted to the 16th century and beyond. turning the manuscript into a book required several developments.