Viking Fund Medal

Viking Fund Medal Front and Back

The Board of Directors of the Viking Fund in 1946 instituted the Viking Fund Annual A wards in Anthropology. Each award consisted of a medal and prize for distinguished research or publication. Initially, they went to scholars who were selected by their respective societies: American Anthropological Association, Society for American Archaeology, and American Association of Physical Anthropologists. In 1961, the selection procedures were modified to increase international involvement in choice of worthy nominees. Medalists were first selected by vote of the Associates in Current Anthropology and later by a special international committee, appointed by the Foundation to represent the four subdisciplines.

The occasion of the annual award was a formal dinner held in early March of each year, at which time the medalists for the previous year were announced, and the medal and monetary prize were presented to each. The Medal was designed by the distinguished Mexican artist Miguel Covarrubias and executed by Rene Paul Chambellan. Its face represents four main human groups in their biological unity and cultural diversity.

Medalists 1946-1960
	General Anthropology	Archaeology	Physical Anthropology
1946	Alfred Kroeber	Alfred Kidder	Franz Weidenreich
1947	Robert Lowie	John Brew	Earnest Hooton
1948	John Swanton	Alex Krieger	Adolph Schultz
1949	George Murdock	Hallam Movius	William Gregory
1950	Clyde Kluckhohn	Emil Haury	Wilton Krogman
1951	Ralph Linton	Frank H.H. Roberts, Jr.	Carleton Coon
1952	Julian Steward	Alfonso Caso	William Straus
1953	Melville Herskovits	Gordon Willey	T. Dale Stewart
1954	Robert Redfield	Wm. Duncan Strong	William Howells
1955	A.I. Hallowell	J. Eric Thompson	W.E. LeGros Clark
1956	Fred Eggan	Junius Bird	Mildred Trotter
1957	Margaret Mead	James Griffin	Raymond Dart
1958	Raymond Firth	Jesse Jennings	Henri Vallois
1959	Leslie White	Irving Rouse	William Greulich
1960	Leslie Spier	S.K. Lothrop	Sherwood Washburn