What was reed used for

This technique has given its characteristic shape to cuneiform writing: of the traits in the form of a wedge, whose triangular end came from the pressure of the calamus in the still tender clay.

The Arabic calligraphy still makes use of the calamus qalam even if this word in modern Arabic has ended up designating the normal pens for writing. It is probable that the stylus was first used as an instrument to engrave in the clay, and that only later it was adopted to write with ink, a technique developed later, and later evolved with the use of feather pen and the most modern pens, fountain pen or sphere.

Carved in a cane or other material, the stylus used for the Mesopotamian clay tablets had, in general, a triangular end, whose use allowed to draw thin lines mostly wedge-shaped, and a rounded back, using which were circular or semicircular signs normally used in the writing of the figures.

In the tablet shown here, both types of traits are clearly visible. To be usable, the barrel must be dried. This operation is carried out keeping it at a constant temperature for example in a dunghill as long as it has not lost its humidity and has hardened; whitish when harvested, it becomes brownish-reddish, sometimes lighter, sometimes darker, and sometimes even black, depending on the type of cane.

When the barrel is dry, it is carved by placing it on the palm of the hand and cutting it obliquely with a knife until it takes the desired shape. Examples of giant reed in a Sentence Recent Examples on the Web The saltwater intrusion into marshes will knock back noxious plants such as cattail and giant reed , creating open water and allowing for vegetation of higher quality to grow in its absence. First Known Use of giant reed , in the meaning defined above. Learn More About giant reed.

Time Traveler for giant reed The first known use of giant reed was in See more words from the same year. Statistics for giant reed Look-up Popularity. Style: MLA. More from Merriam-Webster on giant reed Britannica.

Simple machines such as the one shown are used to cut the larger sizes of flat reed. Second color reeds may have naturally occurring streaks of grey, black, rust or even purplish color running through the lengths. The reed is weighed into one pound hanks, tied, coiled and hairs are clipped off the edges. All containers of reed go through a mandatory fumigation with methyl bromide this is the same insecticide that is used on all produce that enters this country before shipment to the US.

Methyl bromide is considered food safe and is regulated by the EPA. Category: Materials Information Tags: how reed is produced , rattan , reed. Donate Privacy Policy. Its stout stems are filled with a thick, dry pith which is never sweet. The plant grows well without irrigation. The cane might be Arundo or Sorghum. These pens would write on papyrus.

The ink might be lamp black stirred into gall juice. Reed pens can be made from the tall grass, Phragmites communis , a perennial allied to the Arundo. The common reed Phragmites communis , found in the Holy Land, has stems which can grow twelve ft.