Who invented the scissors, or shears?

Quote, “The obvious is so commonplace that when waved in front of our noses we often don’t give it a moment’s thought or even realize it’s there. We take certain objects so for granted that we probably never stop to ask ourselves how they first figured in the life of man. This is the case with scissors: do they date back one century, two centuries or twenty? Our stainless steel kitchen scissors were probably bought from a market stall around the corner, but when did the first scissors come into the world? Attempting to track down the name of a crackpot inventor would certainly be of no avail; as in many similar cases, scissors were not invented in a flash of creative genius, but rather evolved, step by step, alongside many other tools destined to cut, separate and pierce, undergoing modifications of design, material and decoration from the first, primitive examples — or at least from the first examples revealed by archeology and literature — to the scissors of today.” - From Scissors by Massimiliano Mandel.

The first mention of (modern) scissors dates back to the Romanesque period, in the statutes of the craft guild for scissor-makers, one of the many associations of artisans founded in that period. The love of pure, unadorned construction that characterizes Romanesque architecture is reflected in the predilection for simple scissor design, with no decorative elements to distinguish them from previous examples. Only at the end of the Romanesque period, between the Xl and XII century, can one begin to notice greater attention being paid to the shape and quality of scissors, partly due to the development of relations with Eastern countries bordering the Mediterranean. Indeed, as the art of calligraphy spread throughout the Islamic world and scissors with concave blades used to cut sheets of paper became a necessary part of the calligrapher’s equipment, more refined models began to appear with thin, streamlined blades, engraved or damascened.

Mr. John Shears. No really, there is no way in telling who invented such an old instrument, it's like asking who was the first to produce fire. Wikipedia states:

"It is most likely that scissors were invented in 1500 BC in ancient Egypt.[1] The earliest known scissors appeared in the Middle East 3,000 or 4,000 years ago. These were of the 'spring scissor' type comprising two bronze blades connected at the handles by a thin, curved strip of bronze. This strip served to bring the blades together when squeezed and to pull them apart when released."

The Romans had shears sometimes called surgical scissors, also shears for sheep shearing. But they would have been around from the time of the first metal working for sure. so guess at over 5,000 years ago, 4,000 for sure.

Impossible to tell. Shears have been excavated in Egypt and Mezopotamia- so we're talking about an invention over 6 thousand years old.

Might as well ask who invented the wheel (and don't say it was Mr. Goodyear ;-))

Impossible to know for sure, probably some early human like species that figures out that if you hold 2 sharp rocks close together while cutting, you get a nice straight shear/cut.

I've heard Leonardo Da Vinci...

His name was Malcolm. But he was left-handed so he couldn't use them.