The human being or man, as we call today has evolved millions of years ago. A close look at the progress of civilization says that man became intelligent and well-adapted to thoughts and made new discoveries, inventions by sharing of information. To convey the experience and knowledge which they had gained in their life time, man used language, writings as well as carvings which we today call as ancient cave drawings, signs and words. The drawings are usually hunting expeditions or the planting of crops.

With the discovery of clay, traders and others made models for keeping records of figures, and traded materials for shipments. In other words, they became sources of communication. Archaeologists' term these periods date back to 8,500 B.C. The alphabet is said to have come into use around 1500 B.C. and the early ones replaced pictographs made in clay. The Greek alphabet has been in use since 400 B.C. The people of Greece are considered in this period as they sculpted metal, ivory or bone to place their thoughts on tablets coated with wax.

The Chinese used "Indian ink" – the ingredients being soot from pine smoke mixed with lamp oil. Some cultures used inks which they derived from plants, barks of trees and minerals. Each colour symbolized rituals and practices in some cultures. The Chinese used fine silk to write their messages.

The Egyptians, Romans used papyrus for writing which is considered the first form of paper. The Romans used bamboo stems by cutting them in the form of a fountain pen and filling the other end with ‘ink' or ‘fluid'. Squeezing the stem forced the fluid into the nib.

The oldest writing instrument which everyone easily recognizes is the quill pen made from bird feathers. The feathers of goose, swan, crow, eagle, owl and hawk were the most common types of feathers. The disadvantage of this writing method was that the tip of the feather had to be continuously sharpened. A coal stove was used to dry the ink.

Graphite is a form of carbon which was discovered to be useful for writing in the 15th century. Nicolas Conte, a French chemist made a mixture of graphite with clay and enclosed it in a wooden case. This was the origin of the modern pencil.

The discovery of the fountain pen in the 18th century made writing much easier for mankind.