Armor - a combat soldier protective equipment. Animal skins and bark of trees, thick pleated paper, thick stitched (quilted, felted) or, conversely, thin, slippery from silk, clothing - this is not a complete list of everything that used the warriors. Copper and gold helmets were made in ancient world (for example, in Mesopotamia, in the 3rd millennium BC).
The first information about metal armor for the body belong to XIII-XIV centuries - they closed the trunk, head, hands and feet sometimes medieval warriors. Later they began to produce special Plate protection for the limbs of the all-metal plates. There were a great many types of armor - Russian and German, and Japanese masters Norman strictly kept secrets of manufacture. Most often served raw syrodutnyh iron and cast iron. Cast iron armor was stronger but more brittle.