Editing Armour (section)

==== Early ====
[[File:China Shanxi Ming dynasty - Buddhist deity GuanGong or Guan Yu - wood IMG 9575 Museum of Asian Civilisation.jpg|thumb|upright|Wooden statue of [[Guan Yu]] in mountain pattern armour, 16th c. [[Ming dynasty]]|alt=Statue depicting a man in colorful armour]]
The first record of body armor in history was found on the [[Stele of the Vultures|Stele of Vultures]] in [[Sumer|ancient Sumer]] in today's south [[Iraq]],<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Gabriel |first1=Richard A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6sAftYT6dsIC&q=oldest+%22armor%22+stele+vultures&pg=PA51 |title=From Sumer to Rome: The Military Capabilities of Ancient Armies |last2=Metz |first2=Karen S. |date=1991 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-0-313-27645-3 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Gabriel |first=Richard A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HscIwvtkq2UC&q=oldest+%22armor%22+stele+vultures&pg=PA78 |title=The Ancient World |date=2007 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-313-33348-4 |language=en}}</ref> and various forms of scale mail can be seen in surviving records from [[Military of ancient Egypt#New Kingdom armies|the New Kingdom of Egypt]], [[Military of the Zhou dynasty|Zhou dynasty China]], and [[Military history of India#The Indian dynasties|dynastic India]]. [[Cuirass]]es and [[combat helmet|helmet]]s were manufactured in Japan as early as the 4th century.<ref>Farris 1998, [https://books.google.com/books?id=dCNioYQ1HfsC&pg=PA75 p. 75]</ref> ''Tankō'', worn by foot soldiers and ''keikō'', worn by horsemen were both pre-samurai types of early [[Japanese armour]] constructed from iron plates connected together by leather thongs. Japanese lamellar armour (''keiko'') passed through Korea and reached Japan around the 5th century.<ref>Robinson 2002, p. 10</ref> These early Japanese lamellar armours took the form of a sleeveless jacket, leggings and a helmet.<ref>Robinson 2002, pp. 169–170</ref>

Armour did not always cover all of the body; sometimes no more than a helmet and leg plates were worn. The rest of the body was generally protected by means of a large [[shield]]. An example of armies equipping their troops in this fashion were the Aztecs (13th to 15th century CE).<ref>Fagan 2004, {{Page needed|date=June 2011}}</ref>

In East Asia, many types of armour were commonly used at different times by various cultures, including [[scale armour]], [[lamellar armour]], [[laminar armour]], [[plated mail]], [[Chainmail|mail]], [[plate armour]], and [[brigandine]]. Around the dynastic Tang, Song, and early Ming Period, cuirasses and plates (mingguangjia) were also used, with more elaborate versions for officers in war. The Chinese, during that time used partial plates for "important" body parts instead of covering their whole body since too much plate armour hinders their martial arts movement. The other body parts were covered in cloth, leather, lamellar, or [[Chinese armor#mountain pattern armour|mountain pattern armor]]. In pre-Qin dynasty times, leather armour was made out of various animals, with more exotic ones such as the rhinoceros.

[[Mail (armour)|Mail]], sometimes called "chainmail", made of interlocking iron rings is believed to have first appeared some time after 300 BC. Its invention is credited to the [[Celts]]; the [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] are thought to have adopted their design.<ref>Gabriel 2007, [https://books.google.com/books?id=HscIwvtkq2UC&pg=PA79 p. 79]</ref>

Gradually, small additional plates or discs of iron were added to the mail to protect vulnerable areas. Hardened leather and [[splint armour|splinted]] construction were used for arm and leg pieces. The [[coat of plates]] was developed, an armour made of large plates sewn inside a textile or leather coat.