Prehistoric Denver: In Praise of Hunter-GatherersBill HammondAbstract:Euroamericans have lived in the Denver area for the past 150 years or so. However, the area was occupied by humans for 11,000 years or more before that. Thus the history of the area is far longer and more complex than most of us usually realize. During the long prehistoric era, the Hogback Valley west of Denver, between the Dakota ridge and the foothills of the Front Range, was by far the most densly inhabited part of the region. During this time the Native American inhabitants were huntr-gatherers rather than agriculturalists (let alone city dwellers). In 1973 the Denver Chapter began an intensive program of archaeological survey and excavation in the Hogback Valley, on the Ken-Caryl Ranch. Dr. Hammond will give an overview and update of the work and a perspective on the hunter-gatherer lifestyle. BioDr. Bill Hammond is an Emeritus Professor of Pathology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. He has taught and practiced there and at the Denver VA hospital for almost 40 years. He was Chief Medical Officer at the VA from 1979 to 1983, and President of the Faculty at the Medical School in 1984. He has won numerous teaching awards and is an author of over 40 articles in the medical literature. Dr. Hammond joined the Colorado Archaeological Society in 1979, and has been active in its Denver Chapter ever since. He has been President, Treasurer and a member of its Board of Directors. He has been active in its scientific activities since joining the Chapter, primarily its excavations on the Ken-Caryl Ranch. From 1991 to the present he has been co-principal investigator of the Denver Chapter's excavation at Swallow Site on the Ranch. He is currently working on artifact analysis and writing the report on Swallow Site, and is Vice-President and Program Chairman for the Chapter. He represents the archaeology community on the Board of Directors of the Colorado Historical Society. |