A mat is a hard or soft floor covering that generally is placed on a floor or other flat surface. Mats serve a range of purposes including:
Papyrus (/pəˈpaɪrəs/ pə-PY-rəs) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing material. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus, a wetland sedge. Papyrus (plural: papyri or papyruses) can also refer to a document written on sheets of such material, joined side by side and rolled up into a scroll, an early form of a book.
Papyrus was first known to have been used in Egypt (at least as far back as the First Dynasty), as the papyrus plant was once abundant across the Nile Delta. It was also used throughout the Mediterranean region. Apart from writing material, ancient Egyptians employed papyrus in the construction of other artifacts, such as reed boats, mats, rope, sandals, and baskets.
Tatami (畳) are soft mats used as flooring material in traditional Japanese-style rooms. They are made in standard sizes, twice as long as wide, about 0.9 by 1.8 metres (3 by 6 ft), depending on the region. In martial arts, tatami are used for training in a dojo and for competition.
Tatami are covered with a weft-faced weave of soft rush (藺草, igusa) on a warp of hemp or weaker cotton. There are four warps per weft shed, two at each end (or sometimes two per shed, one at each end, to reduce cost). The doko (core) is traditionally made from sewn-together rice straw, but contemporary tatami sometimes have compressed wood chip boards or extruded polystyrene foam in their cores instead or as well. The long sides are usually edged (縁, heri) with brocade or plain cloth, although some tatami have no edging.