The Viking Fund Medal is an annual award given out by the

Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research Axel Lennart Wenner-Gren (5 June 1881 – 24 November 1961) was a Swedish entrepreneur and one of the wealthiest men in the world during the 1930s. Early life He was born on 5 June 1881 in Uddevalla, a town on the west coast of Sweden. He w ...

for distinguishing research or publication in the field of

Anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...

. From 1946 to 1961, nominees were selected by their respective societies: The

American Anthropological Association The American Anthropological Association (AAA) is an organization of scholars and practitioners in the field of anthropology. With 10,000 members, the association, based in Arlington, Virginia, includes archaeologists, cultural anthropologists, ...

, the

Society for American Archaeology The Society for American Archaeology (SAA) is a professional association for the archaeology of the Americas. It was founded in 1934 and its headquarters are in based in Washington, D.C. , it has 7,500 members. Its current president is Deborah L. ...

, and the

American Association of Physical Anthropologists The American Association of Biological Anthropologists (AABA) is an international professional society of biological anthropologists, based in the United States. The organization publishes the ''American Journal of Physical Anthropology'', a pe ...

, respectively for the fields of

General Anthropology ''General Anthropology'' is an anthropology journal edited by Dave McCurdy and Patricia C. Rice. It is published in May and November by Wiley-Blackwell for the General Anthropology Division of the American Anthropological Association. It publi ...

Archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

, and Physical Anthropology. In 1961, the selection procedure was modified for international nominees selection to increase the number of qualified applicants; the Viking Fund Medal has no longer been awarded annually, due to the embezzlement SEK 40,000,000 from the foundation by the trustee, Birger Strid, who was convicted of financial irregularities in 1975, with many years between awards.

References

{{Reflist Anthropology awards Archaeology awards Awards established in 1946

See also

References