br Bamboo Digital Ebook br br In Japan, archaeological sites have unearthed bamboo baskets and combs dating back as early as 10,000 BC.  Evidence exists of houses and musical instruments made from bamboo in Colombia and Ecuador dating back 5000 years. The earliest known form of "paper" was made from the leaves that surround bamboo shoots and was used to keep simple records. Another form of paper made from bamboo has been in use for thousands of years to make books. The ancient Chinese also used slips—strips of bamboo cut lengthwise and then painted or carved—to record official documents.  In the 1990's, archaeologists working in China's Hubei Province found the earliest version of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching, the famous Taoist text, copied on these slips. br     To pre-industrialized societies, bamboo has been and still is a mainstay of life, providing shelter, food, and a plethora of essential tools for many aspects of life. br Occurring naturally on every continent except Antarctica and Europe, bamboo has been used extensively wherever it grows.