Ammunition is a general term used to describe rockets, bombs, grenades, torpedoes, mines, guided missiles, smoke bombs, flares, gun cartridges, shells, and other projectile materials used in warfare, hunting, and target shooting.

Primitive peoples first used stones and sticks as ammunition. They later discovered that, if a stone was wrapped in a thong made of animal hide or vine, it could be sent great distances with deadly accuracy, depending upon its velocity. The sling soon followed, often used with sharpened sticks and stones, which were later also employed as arrowheads. The Greeks and Romans used various types of catapults to throw stones. Wooden engines were also used in the ancient world to throw showers of darts or to launch flaming matter.

Gunpowder was probably discovered in China during the tenth century and was used primarily in fireworks. Its military use was not realized until the early 1300s, when...