Editing Shield (section)

==Prehistory==
[[File:Mindanao Bangsamoro & Lumad Shields & Knives.jpg|thumb|Elaborate and sophisticated shields from the [[Philippines]].]]
The first prototype of the shield was believed to be created in the [[Late Neolithic|Late Neolithic Age]]. However the oldest surviving shields date to sometime in the [[Bronze Age]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Shields: history and terminology |url=http://web.prm.ox.ac.uk/Kent/shieweap/shgenex3.html#anchor1814722 |access-date=2024-11-10 |website=web.prm.ox.ac.uk}}</ref> The oldest form of shield was a protection device designed to block attacks by hand weapons, such as swords, axes and maces, or ranged weapons like sling-stones and arrows. Shields have varied greatly in construction over time and place. Sometimes shields were made of metal, but [[wood]] or [[Rawhide (textile)|animal hide]] construction was much more common; [[wicker]] and even turtle shells have been used. Many surviving examples of metal shields are generally felt to be ceremonial rather than practical, for example the [[Yetholm-type shields]] of the [[Bronze Age]], or the [[Iron Age]] [[Battersea Shield|Battersea shield]].