Tribute to longtime member Bill Hammond
The following tribute to Bill Hammond was written by Jack Warner. Lynn Hoy, President of the Denver Chapter of CAS, noted, “As a newbie to Colorado, Bill taught me the basics of lithic analysis as we worked together on the Swallow site artifacts. I am grateful for his patience.”
Jack Warner, Bill Hammond
William (Bill) Hammond, MD, a member of the Denver Chapter of the Colorado Archaeological Society (CAS) for over 40 years and the 2014 recipient of the CAS Ivol Hagar Award for outstanding long-term contributions to CAS, recently passed away after a long illness.
Bill was born to be an archaeologist, although he was a medical doctor by profession.
Dr. Bill Hammond was an Emeritus Professor of Pathology on the faculty of the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Bill is a Past President of the Denver Chapter of CAS and held several other Chapter offices. He was very active in field archaeology and he was the original person that proposed the PAAC lithics course.
Bill was very involved in archaeological field work at the Lowery Bombing Range, the Plains Conservation Center, the Paleo-Indian Gault Site in TX, and several of the prehistoric sites on Ken-Caryl Ranch west of Denver. He is particularly known for his team leadership, field work, and lab work on the Early Archaic Swallow site. Bill authored and co-authored several publications and scientific talks. The Fall 2020 issue of Southwestern Lore is devoted to Bill’s Swallow Site report.
Bill continued to be active doing archaeological research and mentoring CAS members until the end. Bill was always available to consult with the Ken-Caryl Ranch Historical Society’s archaeological committee. In the past weeks, Bill was consulting on some of the latest finds and analyzing their meaning among the other prehistoric sites previously excavated there. During this work, Bill told me that he had lived a good life and knew the end was near. He told me he was most proud of this lifetime work in archaeology and the legacy of knowledge he has left behind.
Jack Warner