H. M. (Hannah Marie) Wormington

Born in Denver in 1914, Hannah Marie Wormington became one of the most influential archaeologists of the American West. She studied anthropology at the University of Denver and began her career at what is now the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, where she worked with important collections from early archaeological sites in Colorado.

Wormington was especially known for her research on Paleo-Indians and other prehistoric cultures of the Southwest and Rocky Mountain region. Her books and articles helped establish early North American archaeology for both specialists and general readers, and she became widely respected in the field, later serving as president of the Society for American Archaeology.

She remained closely associated with Denver and with museum work throughout her life, combining scholarship with public education in a way that left a lasting mark. She died in 1994, and she is still remembered as a trailblazing woman in American archaeology.