History of Weapons

First created weopon during Paleolithic & Neolithic Era

40,000 BCE

Humans first created weapons to improve their style of living. These weapons were used to cut through tougher hides and for penetration to create a bigger wound for efficient hunting. Types of weapons were spear, boomerang, ax, and knife. People used sharpened bone, flint knapped stones, flakes and chips of rock as the main materials to create the weapons during these eras.

The First Bow and Arrow

20,000 BCE

The bow was first introduced at around 20,000 BCE. Humans have created a bow and arrow to hunt and attack from distance (About 20 to 50 meters). Tip of the arrow was made out of sharpened bone or chert is a fine-grained sedimentary rock composed of crystals of chert. quartz that is very small.

First Metal Weapon

3500 BCE

Bronze age enabled humans to create the first metal weapon such as metal dagger then it develops to the sword and continues the applications as the weapon's material and many more in daily living. As the source of materials improved, durability, strength, and design of the weapons also have improved.

Composite Bow

3000 BCE

As we already know, bow and arrow were already introduced way before. However, the Egyptian was the first one to adopt archery for daily use. Archery was adopted for hunting and warfare for Egyptians. During this era, the functionality of archery was well developed such as durability, strength, range, etc. The composite bow would be a good example. It was smaller and lighter but carries improved distance in range.

First Crossbow

700 BCE

The first crossbow was invented at around 700 BCE. It was first invented by China. From the concept of the bow, stock and trigger mechanism was added to the crossbow. The crossbow carried a much more consistent distance than the regular bow, it could have shot up to 2600 feet. The crossbow was invented as a peacemaking device; to calm the fighting between the states within China

The First Catapult

400 BCE

It is also an invention of Greek around 400 BCE.It was called Gastraphete when it was invented by Greek and looking similar to the crossbow. Then, Greek made a bigger version of catapult due to the impression of its destructive power. Catapult was used to throw an object over a distance. capability varies depending on the size of the catapult, it could hurl up to 350 pounds object for distances greater than 300 feet.

The First Ballista

400 BCE

The ballista was first invented in early Greek around 400 BCE. It was the first artillery system that was invented in world history, The Roman empire was the one that improved this artillery system to its maximum capability. It's is a form catapult that looks more like a giant crossbow that fires spear instead of arrows. The largest ballista was quite accurate in hurling 60-pound weights up to 1500 feet. This device was used as a siege weapon, it was used during castle invasion or the defense.

The First Gunpowder

800

The gunpowder was found in China where they used it in fireworks and signals by the 10th century. It was also referred as black powder. Alchemists blended charcoal, saltpeter and sulfur into a powder which was called "huo yao". It was first created to treat skin infections, but army also quickly learned it could be in warfare. Later on, black powder becomes critical source for the weapon development

The First Firearm

900

The first firearm was invented in China. Chinese has invented first prototype of firearm using black powder called "huo qiang" (fire lance), which upon ignite, projectiles shoot out arrows or bits of metal forcefully.

The First Canon

1300

Canon was invented by China around 1300. Over the course of time, Chinese had invented gunpowder and fire lance. Canon was invented for the warfare, which was the heavy metal channel projectile uses gunpowder to forcefully ejecting heavy round object over a long distance. Design and the mechanism of the canons have changed by different regions in the world.