10 Weapons That Changed History

The Spear

Dating back 400,000 years, spears influenced the earliest colonization of Europe by humans giving them the hunting technology to survive in cold climates. (New York Times)

Bow and Arrow

The most effective weapon in history, it dates back around 61,000 years. It has developed many great empires as both a weapon of war and of hunting. (Encyclopedia Britannica)

Gunpowder

Chinese alchemists reasearching an elixir for immortality discovered gunpowder leading to the development of grenades and cannons. (Discovery)