The Emergence of the Book

Archaeological discoveries during the past century provide documentary evidence for the ratio of rolls to codices during the first four centuries of our era. This ratio differs markedly from Christian to Jewish and pagan writings, suggesting that our book form may initially have been a Christian strategy to distinguish Christian from other writings and that this format, when its physical advantages became evident, was then adopted by the larger culture. Using this evidence, C. H. Roberts has suggested two historical reconstructions of the first use of the codex form.