Expert makes new findings on history of papermaking

A Chinese archaeologist has announced new findings about an ancient scrap of paper, likely the earliest on record, dating back to 250 years before Cai Lun revolutionized papermaking technology in China.

The piece, about five centimeters long and two centimeters wide, was unearthed three decades ago in Fangmatan, an archaeological site in Gansu province, but it didn't garner attention until 2012 when Li Xiaocen, an archaeologist at Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, found the piece had uneven fiber distribution when put under the microscope.

"The surface of the fragment is yellow and quite rough, and the fibers are randomly yet densely interlaced," Li said.