Thomas van der Hammen

Thomas van der Hammen (Schiedam, Netherlands, 27 September 1924 - Chía, Colombia, 12 March 2010) was a Dutch palaeontologist, botanist and geologist. He had published more than 160 works in five languages.

Biography
Thomas van der Hammen was born in the city of Schiedam in South Holland, western The Netherlands and studied botany and palaeontology at Leiden University from 1944 to 1949. He was a deeply religious man.

After his studies and years of research at the University of Amsterdam, Van der Hammen arrived in Bogotá in 1951.

Thomas van der Hammen analysed the Bogotá savanna and concluded a great lake (Lake Humboldt) was present there around 60,000 years BP, covering present-day Bogotá, Soacha, Funza, Mosquera, Madrid, Cota, Chía and Cajicá. Van der Hammen has contributed greatly to the understanding of the geology of the Bogotá savanna and surrounding areas. He has worked with Gonzalo Correal Urrego towards an understanding of the prehistoric sites, as El Abra, Tequendama and Tibitó in central Colombia and has defined and described various geological formations, such as the Marichuela, Tunjuelo, and Subachoque Formations. His paleobotanical background proved valuable in dating the continental Cacho Formation.

In 2000, a natural reserve in the north of Bogotá bordering Chía and Cota, Thomas van der Hammen Natural Reserve, was named after the naturalist. The mayor of Bogotá, Enrique Peñalosa who ran twice for the Green Party, allowed for the construction of homes in the reserve, leading to protests of the people.

In 2003, Dr. van der Hammen granted a wide-ranging interview to Radio Netherlands about his work and his life.

Works
This list is a selection.

Books

 * 2008 - La Cordillera Oriental Colombiana Transecto Sumapaz - Estudios de Ecosistemas Tropandinos
 * 2007 - Atlas de Páramos de Colombia
 * 1986 - La Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (Colombia) Transecto Buritaca-La Cumbre
 * 1979 - Changes in life conditions on Earth during the past one million years
 * 1953 - Late-glacial flora and periglacial phenomena in the Netherlands

Articles

 * 2006 - La conservación de la biodiversidad: hacia una estructura ecológica de soporte de la nación colombiana
 * 2001 - Diversidade biológica e cultural da Amazonia
 * 1997 - El bosque de Condalia
 * 1981 - Environmental changes in the Northern Andes and the extinction of Mastodon
 * 1978 - Stratigraphy and environment of the Upper Quaternary of the El Abra corridor and rock shelters (Colombia)
 * 1972 - Changes in vegetation and climate in the Amazon basin and surrounding areas during the Pleistocene
 * 1966 - The Pliocene and Quaternary of the Sabana de Bogotá (The Tilatá and Sabana Formations)
 * 1957 - Climatic periodicity and evolution of South American Maestichtian and Tertiary floras
 * 1951 - Vegetatie en stratigrafie van het Laat-glaciaal en het Pleni-glaciaal
 * 1949 - De Allerod-oscillatie in Nederland. Pollenanalytisch onderzoek van een laatglaciale meerafzetting in Drente

Notable works by Van der Hammen

 * Morales M., Otero J., Hammen Thomas van der., Torres A., Cadena-Vargas C., Pedraza C., Rodríguez N., Franco C., Betancourth J.C., Olaya E., Posada E. y Cárdenas L. 2007. Atlas de páramos de Colombia. Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt. Bogotá, D. C. 208 p. ISBN 978-958-8151-91-5