For centuries, papyrus was the dominant writing material of the Mediterranean, but its susceptibility to moisture posed a significant challenge in cooler, wetter climates. The widespread adoption of parchment—made from processed animal skins—is often credited with preserving classical literature through the Middle Ages. However, historians argue that parchment's ascendancy was not merely a matter of environmental durability. Parchment was highly reusable; scribes could scrape away old text to create palimpsests, allowing monasteries to recycle scarce writing surfaces. Thus, while parchment did physically endure better than papyrus, its economic versatility and suitability for localized, resource-constrained monastic production were equally decisive in its rise.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
- AA shortage of Mediterranean papyrus forced medieval monasteries to adopt parchment as their primary medium for copying classical literature.
- Parchment's rise to prominence over papyrus was due to a combination of its physical resilience and its economic utility, especially its capacity for reusability.Answer
- CThe materials used for writing throughout history have been determined by the geographical availability of animal resources.
- DParchment became dominant because papyrus was physically incapable of surviving the climate outside of the Mediterranean basin.