ROUND SHIELDS AND BODY TECHNIQUES: EXPERIMENTAL ARCHAEOLOGY WITH A VIKING AGE ROUND SHIELD RECONSTRUCTION BY ROLF F. WARMING BACKGROUND Two technological elements can be distinguished in human societies in general: one is body techniques; the other is the material culture (or extrasomatic technology) that has been employed (Horn 2013:100). Together they establish mechanical pairs of elements (Mauss 1992). Taking the example of an Abbevillian hand axe and its relationship to forceful movements and the firm manner in which the hand axe is held, Mauss emphasized that techniques of the body is intimately connected with material culture; that material technologies shape and transform bodily techniques to a considerable extent (Mauss 1992: 471-472). In fact, any extrasomatic technology has the potential to either encourage or facilitate certain sets of corporeal movements and to restrict, or otherwise discourage, others. Extrasomatic technology, therefore, is often produced with body techniques in mind. A desirable result is an ergonomic design which, through rational and calculative thought processes, has been found suitable for the purpose of achieving a specific goal or end. While the archaeological remains of Viking Age round shields can offer details regarding the construction of shields, they provide, in and of themselves, only vague and limited inferences into the second aspect of Mauss’ ŵeĐhaŶiĐal paiƌs of eleŵeŶts, ďodLJ teĐhŶiƋues. It ŵaLJ ďe aƌgued, ŵoƌeoǀeƌ, that a shield construction cannot be fully understood without any knowledge of body techniques, given the interconnected nature of the mechanical pairs of elements. Experimental archaeology has the potential to offer further insight into this subject. While a few experimentations with round shields have previously been undertaken, it is clear that these have generally been committed towards understanding merely constructional features of round shields or carried out without an emphasis placed on the simulation of combative conditions. Experiments involving the testing of constructional features - preeminently the leather or gut facing - have revealed some information regarding the significance of individual constructional components and the composition of shields (e.g. Nielsen 1991; Paulsen 1998; Short 2000:40-43; Pauli Jensen 2007:369-371). These tests, however, have been carried out by methods involving the fastening of the shield to a static podium, consequently eliminating the agentic factor and therefore not directly testing any body techniques (fig. 4.1).