Preserving Paper
March 2, 2022 4:39 PM Subscribe
I want to preserve 3 printed sheets of paper for 10,000 years such that should someone stumble upon them they'll be able to see the symbols legibly.
This is mostly hypothetical, but stems from a project idea. I'd like to produce multiple identical caches of these documents to distribute geographically to increase the chances that one might be discovered. Each set should cost under $100 to produce. The pages should be something plain to see with a pair of human eyes, not requiring any special technology. The content could be ink on paper, but more durable options are acceptable if the technology required to produce them doesn't exceed the per cache cost limit and can be automate-able. The documents will need to be sealed in some kind of container (metal , plastic, ceramic box, etc). Anything is fine so long as opening it is unlikely to damage the pages and it offers protection from the environment. It does not need to be resealable. Cache locations will be arid, not near the sea or in a flood plain. They'll likely need to be buried to remain undisturbed and protected from the sun / weather in the short term. Placement in orbit, on the moon, or out past the kuiper belt should be considered out of scope.
I'm asking for any insights on how best to approach this.
This is mostly hypothetical, but stems from a project idea. I'd like to produce multiple identical caches of these documents to distribute geographically to increase the chances that one might be discovered. Each set should cost under $100 to produce. The pages should be something plain to see with a pair of human eyes, not requiring any special technology. The content could be ink on paper, but more durable options are acceptable if the technology required to produce them doesn't exceed the per cache cost limit and can be automate-able. The documents will need to be sealed in some kind of container (metal , plastic, ceramic box, etc). Anything is fine so long as opening it is unlikely to damage the pages and it offers protection from the environment. It does not need to be resealable. Cache locations will be arid, not near the sea or in a flood plain. They'll likely need to be buried to remain undisturbed and protected from the sun / weather in the short term. Placement in orbit, on the moon, or out past the kuiper belt should be considered out of scope.
I'm asking for any insights on how best to approach this.
For long-term stability, unbleached 100% cotton rag paper would probably be your best choice of substrate.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:52 PM on March 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Thorzdad at 4:52 PM on March 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
Not exactly on the topic of _paper_, but long-term nuclear warning messages are a significant area of research about communicating information meaningfully over that kind of time horizon. Might have some relevant ideas?
posted by twigatwig at 4:54 PM on March 2, 2022 [8 favorites]
posted by twigatwig at 4:54 PM on March 2, 2022 [8 favorites]
Incise on a clay tablet, bake at high temperature, and bury.
posted by praemunire at 4:59 PM on March 2, 2022 [29 favorites]
posted by praemunire at 4:59 PM on March 2, 2022 [29 favorites]
For text only, I've considered using a roll of aluminum foil on an old manual typewriter.
posted by ovvl at 5:00 PM on March 2, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by ovvl at 5:00 PM on March 2, 2022 [3 favorites]
How important to you is the flexibility of the substrate? Using the materials and tools in my shop, and going for "cheap, and easy to source materials" I'd use my CNC router to mill the letters into brass, and then maybe put that into a concrete sarcophagus.
Though the effect of that alkaline environment on brass is worth investigating a little more.
posted by straw at 5:04 PM on March 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
Though the effect of that alkaline environment on brass is worth investigating a little more.
posted by straw at 5:04 PM on March 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
By the way, if you really hope for this message to be decipherable in 10,000 years, I strongly urge you to translate it into multiple languages, preferably across more than one language family.
posted by praemunire at 5:08 PM on March 2, 2022 [13 favorites]
posted by praemunire at 5:08 PM on March 2, 2022 [13 favorites]
Clay tablets and carved stone last best. Clay can often be read even after it's broken. Archivists have institutional knowledge of the best papers and inks. Remember, Medieval books were recopied on parchment every few hundred years. Paper is definitely not something that has lasted for thousands of years.
posted by irisclara at 5:11 PM on March 2, 2022 [7 favorites]
posted by irisclara at 5:11 PM on March 2, 2022 [7 favorites]
Have you considered vellum? Considering that there are vellum skins that have held legible information for several thousand years I think you should consider it. Obviously, it would probably be poorly preserved if it became wet.
Are you certain that areas currently arid will remain so in the face of rapid and potentially catestrophic climate change?
posted by citygirl at 5:15 PM on March 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
Are you certain that areas currently arid will remain so in the face of rapid and potentially catestrophic climate change?
posted by citygirl at 5:15 PM on March 2, 2022 [2 favorites]
The Rosetta Project of the Long Now Foundation is worth a look. (The cheap option, based on my imperfect memory of talks from ten years ago, all freely available on their website, might be sheets of engraved brass. Front Panel Express is cheap if you don't want to make your own.) Protecting paper isn't impossible, but not starting with paper might be easier.
posted by eotvos at 6:09 PM on March 2, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by eotvos at 6:09 PM on March 2, 2022 [4 favorites]
The clay tablet thing is easy and cheap—3D print a positive mold of the pages (the letters shouldn’t be undercut and they need to be mirror-reversed), roll out slabs of high-fire stoneware clay, sprinkle with cornstarch and impress the text (big font a plus). Then fire to cone 10. For extra aesthetic value, glaze first with a nice breaking glaze.
If you don’t count your labor it would probably be $10 a page in quantity a few dozen copies.
The suggestion to do several languages is good and if they’re in separate columns on the same page, you might be producing a Rosetta Stone for future scholars. Good luck. Post again in 12022 to let us know how it came out.
posted by Gilgamesh's Chauffeur at 6:32 PM on March 2, 2022 [18 favorites]
If you don’t count your labor it would probably be $10 a page in quantity a few dozen copies.
The suggestion to do several languages is good and if they’re in separate columns on the same page, you might be producing a Rosetta Stone for future scholars. Good luck. Post again in 12022 to let us know how it came out.
posted by Gilgamesh's Chauffeur at 6:32 PM on March 2, 2022 [18 favorites]
We have papyrus documents from 4000 years ago, but, well, they look a little the worse for wear.
On the other hand this tablet from Uruk, 5000 years old, looks pristine. This one is actually pre-cuneiform though it's the same writing system. This is the earliest writing system in the world, so nothing is much older.
The Lascaux cave paintings have lasted 17,000 years (mineral pigments on rock), but exposure to light and visitors' breath have been pretty bad for them.
posted by zompist at 7:45 PM on March 2, 2022 [5 favorites]
On the other hand this tablet from Uruk, 5000 years old, looks pristine. This one is actually pre-cuneiform though it's the same writing system. This is the earliest writing system in the world, so nothing is much older.
The Lascaux cave paintings have lasted 17,000 years (mineral pigments on rock), but exposure to light and visitors' breath have been pretty bad for them.
posted by zompist at 7:45 PM on March 2, 2022 [5 favorites]
I think it's probably more about the container than the substrate. Does your $100 budget include the container? Within this budget, put the plain paper documents in a PVC tube, pressurize with xenon to a few atmospheres, screw caps onto the tube, and coat the whole thing in epoxy a couple inches thick.
It doesn't matter what kind of paper or ink you use; the contents will never get touched by oxygen or water. There's no chemistry happening in there.
If you can go above the budget, coat the whole thing in graphene before sealing with epoxy. Nothing's ever getting in or out until the shell is cut open.
posted by mr_roboto at 10:03 PM on March 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
It doesn't matter what kind of paper or ink you use; the contents will never get touched by oxygen or water. There's no chemistry happening in there.
If you can go above the budget, coat the whole thing in graphene before sealing with epoxy. Nothing's ever getting in or out until the shell is cut open.
posted by mr_roboto at 10:03 PM on March 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
Glass, clay tablets etc break and scatter. Think about the oldest things we see intact in museums today, rather than unproven modern printing, vacuum or sealing technologies which offer no guarantee of anything. Depending on how much information needs to go on each sheet, very small/thin stamped or etched gold, bronze or copper sheets may fit your budget. Start with the most robust material for your message and you will have to worry less about the container. Choose a degreadeable material to carry your message and you may as well etch the message on the container.
posted by mani at 2:21 AM on March 3, 2022
posted by mani at 2:21 AM on March 3, 2022
Paper and other organic materials degrade from temperature, humidity, insects, fungi etc. in years measured in a human lifespan.
Look into materials that do not degrade in this way. Others have mentioned glass and clay. Metals typically rust or oxidize, unless you use gold or other noble, inert metals. You might also look at plastic substrates, such as Teflon papers, which will degrade over millions of years, using metallic ink with a long half life.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 3:06 AM on March 3, 2022
Look into materials that do not degrade in this way. Others have mentioned glass and clay. Metals typically rust or oxidize, unless you use gold or other noble, inert metals. You might also look at plastic substrates, such as Teflon papers, which will degrade over millions of years, using metallic ink with a long half life.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 3:06 AM on March 3, 2022
Etched glass is not too hard to make and would last through elements, just not a sharp drop.
posted by tchemgrrl at 3:37 AM on March 3, 2022
posted by tchemgrrl at 3:37 AM on March 3, 2022
For archaeological digs they will leave a little marker with the year of the excavation after sealing up a site so that any future folks will have a clue that the site was disturbed in year xxxx. Sort of an FYI, we were here.
I believe the preferred item for this is ceramic because it is cheap and has the best chance of lasting for the long haul in conditions where other materials may degrade.
posted by forkisbetter at 5:20 AM on March 3, 2022 [2 favorites]
I believe the preferred item for this is ceramic because it is cheap and has the best chance of lasting for the long haul in conditions where other materials may degrade.
posted by forkisbetter at 5:20 AM on March 3, 2022 [2 favorites]
Glass, clay tablets etc break and scatter. Think about the oldest things we see intact in museums today
...Clay tablets are some of the oldest things we see in museums today, and the oldest surviving examples of writing on portable surfaces. Some of them are intact. Because clay baked at high heat is actually quite durable. Making the substrate a valuable material dramatically increases the risk that it will be destroyed to extract profit.
posted by praemunire at 7:29 AM on March 3, 2022 [9 favorites]
...Clay tablets are some of the oldest things we see in museums today, and the oldest surviving examples of writing on portable surfaces. Some of them are intact. Because clay baked at high heat is actually quite durable. Making the substrate a valuable material dramatically increases the risk that it will be destroyed to extract profit.
posted by praemunire at 7:29 AM on March 3, 2022 [9 favorites]
The clay for the suggested tablets could be further strengthened and protected from breakage by embedding strands of Fiberglas (or other kinds of glass fibers, or some kind of nanofiber).
posted by beagle at 8:34 AM on March 3, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by beagle at 8:34 AM on March 3, 2022 [2 favorites]
Obviously, I have no idea the answer to this, but I'm sitting here wondering why converting the pages to - or embedding them in - some sort of plastic (or whatever that we're told lasts forever) isn't on the table as an option.
A lot of fantasy books use things written (etched?) into metal in some way for this sort of purpose, but I don't know if that's truly the best option.
posted by stormyteal at 9:10 AM on March 3, 2022 [2 favorites]
A lot of fantasy books use things written (etched?) into metal in some way for this sort of purpose, but I don't know if that's truly the best option.
posted by stormyteal at 9:10 AM on March 3, 2022 [2 favorites]
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3 pages of 8.5x11 page of text? What font size? Double-spaced?
I was thinking some sort of non-rusting metallic sheets. laser etched, stored inside a sealed tube.
posted by kschang at 4:52 PM on March 2, 2022 [1 favorite]