Shield
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Straddling the line between body armor and weapon is the shield. A shield is a hand held barrier used to deflect or otherwise stop incoming blows. Usually a shield would be carried in the user's secondary hand while the favored hand would carry a weapon (the right hand in most cases). Shields have been in use since the neolithic period at least have have been used by people from Europe to Australia and the Americas. Shields have been constructed from a variety of materials, including woven reeds, animal hides and textiles over wood or bone frames, wood and metal.
Shields in Warfare
One of the most effective ways for infantry to make the most of shields was to stand shoulder to shoulder, forming a shield wall. This way each guy protects not only himself, but the people to his sides which will have to go through him to get around their shields and vice versa.
In addition to defense, shields can also be used offensively. A good solid shield is a broad heavy object, it can be used to bash people to disorient them, thus allowing the killing blow to be dealt. The Romans were very fond of this. Some forms of shield had spikes added to them in order to make the most out of bashing attacks.