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Viking Fund Medal
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 Roberts |
 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 |
| Medalists 1961 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 |  E.E. Evans-Pritchard |
 Robert Heine-Geldern |
 Louis S.B. Leakey |
 Sol Tax |
| Medalists 1966-2005 | |
|---|---|
| 1966 |  Claude Levi-Strauss |
| 1972 |  J.G. Douglas Clark |
| 2003 |  Marilyn Strathern |
| 2004 |  Jane H. Hill |
| 2005 |  George Armelagos |