When was ink invented?

Answer:

Answer

Chinese are known to be the first people to use and invent ink.

Ink was invented by the Chinese in the 18th Century BC. The first known ink that was used in China was from natural plant dye, animal and mineral inks...


India only started using ink in the 4th century BC.


The oldest known variety of ink is Chinese Brush Ink which is still used in modern time and Japan and India started using it for writing with small brushes instead of pens.

The ink used in early India since at least the 4th century BC was called masi, which was an admixture of several chemical components


[Banerji, Sures Chandra (1989). A Companion to Sanskrit Literature. Motilal Banarsidass. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Special:Booksources&isbn=812080063X.]


Indian documents written in Kharosthi with ink have been unearthed in Xinjiang.


[Deng, Yinke. (2005). Ancient Chinese Inventions. Translated by Wang Pingxing. Beijing: China Intercontinental Press. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Special:Booksources&isbn=7508508378.]


The practice of writing with ink and a sharp pointed needle was common in early South India.


[Gottsegen, Mark E. (2006). The Painter's Handbook: A Complete Reference. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Special:Booksources&isbn=0823034968.]


Several Jain sutras in India were compiled in ink.


[Menzies, Nicholas K. (1994). Forest and Land Management in Imperial China. New York: St. Martin's Press, Inc. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Special:Booksources&isbn=0312102542.]
http://www.cais-soas.com/CAIS/Languages/kharoshti_script.htm

Etymology:
Ink - "the black liquor with which men write" [Johnson], c.1250, from O.Fr. enque "dark writing fluid," from L.L. encaustum, from Gk. enkauston "purple or red ink," used by the Roman emperors to sign documents, originally a neut. adj. form of enkaustos "burned in".
In Sanskrit, Angusta (and Angustum) means 'thumb'. Those who do
not know writing are supposed to put their thumb impression with
ink instead of signature. This method originated in ancient
India, and is still followed. The word 'enkaustos' and the Latin
word 'encaustum' originated from the Sanskrit word for thumb.

By the 12th century CE, India ink had become common in Rome.
Vitruvius speaks of a machine used to collect lamp black produced
by the combustion of resin and speaks of this blank pigment as
being used by painters who mixed it with glue. In any case, the
use of India ink became widespread as of the l8th century at
which time it was directly imported from India. In fact, an
enourmous amount of imitations were made of both this ink and the
decorative dragons it was ornamented with.

In the early 20th century, India ink became the most popular ink
for printing and writing in the West.