Did you know…. (hemp history)

That hemp was the first plant mankind grew for its fibers. Before there were flax and cotton the Chinese planted hemp seeds to make materials as rope and linen. These materials were needed by craftsman and helped to build the earliest elements of our world wide civilization. The oldest example of industrial hemp is more then 12.000 years old. When we stopped roaming the earth and became farmers. Hemp was there and helped us to achieve our goal.

The reason for the early domestication is clear. Hemp grows easily also on less fertile ground. It doesn't require much water. And hemp is resistant to most deceases. In modern days these three attributes mean that only little fertilizer is needed and that hemp grows without the use of pesticides. In ancient timers it meant that without all to much care it grew on almost any soil giving a rich harvest year after year. This meant that in a civilization without any agricultural knowledge hemp was the to go for crop.

As was the case in the 20^th century hemp was grown for military purposes as well. Soldiers fought in clothing made of hemp, used bowstrings made of hemp and defended flags made of the same material. Paper holds a special place within human civilization. For years it was the only information carrier helping getting messages through time and space. In China a form of proto-paper (like papyrus) was made from silk. I was only when ancient Chinese realized that mixing the fibers of hemp with mulberry bark produced a cheap strong and lighter form of paper that writing really took off.