Mr. Daniels wrote:

>Vellum is (etymologically) calfskin, usually denoting merely a fine
>grade of parchment. Paper would go together with papyrus (and palm
>leaves) as a vegetal writing surface.

Parchment [from Pergamum, an ancient Greek city] was developed under King
Eumenes II (197-158 B.C.E.). It is made traditionally from the split skin
of a sheep or goat, soaked in lime, scraped, stretched and dried.

Vellum [Latin VITULUS = calf] is a kind of parchment. Whereas parchment is
made from split sheepskin and has no grain pattern, vellum is made of whole
calfskin (or, less traditionally, from other animals) and has a grain
pattern on the hair side.

Papyrus [from the plant, Cyperus papyrus] is a paper-like material made by
laying strips of the wet inner plant fiber across each other and beating
them together to form sheets.

Paper was invented in China by Ts'ai Lun. Ts'ai Lun was an official under
the Chinese Emperor Ho Ti. In 105 C.E., he introduced the Emperor to the
practical art of papermaking, and is officially credited for inventing
paper. To make paper, vegetable fibers containing cellulose are cooked and
beaten until they form a pulp in water. The pulp is reconstituted into thin
sheets by depositing it onto a fine screen and drying.

Randall Hunt