The First Firearms

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The earliest depiction of a firearm is a sculpture from a cave in Sichuan, China. The sculpture dates to the 1100s and is of a figure carrying a vase-shaped bombardcannonball coming out of it.The oldest surviving gun, made of bronze, has been dated to 1288 because it was discovered at a site in modern-day Acheng District, Heilongjiang, China, where the Yuan Shi records that battles were fought at that time.

The Europeans, Arabs, and Koreans all obtained firearms in the 1300s.The Turks, Iranians, and Indians all got firearms no later than the 1400s, in each case directly or indirectly from the Europeans. The Japanese did not acquire firearms until the 1500s, and then from the Portuguese rather than the Chinese
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