William (“Bill”) L. Mangold, Ph.D. passed away on November 10, 2024.  Bill earned an M.A. in Anthropology (Archaeology) from Western Michigan University in 1981 under the mentorship of the late Elizabeth “Betsy” Baldwin Garland.  He later earned a second M.A. in 1987 from The Pennsylvania State University, Middletown and he earned a Ph.D. from Indiana University, Bloomington in 2009.  Throughout his career, he played many professional roles, teaching archaeology and anthropology, mentoring avocational archaeologists, serving as a consultant, and helping manage Indiana’s archaeological resources during his time with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, which began in 1991.  He initially worked for the Division of Reclamation, which oversaw archaeological aspects of coal mining, but later moved to the Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology, retiring in 2009.

Bill had a long-standing interest in precontact ceramics, especially those of the Middle Woodland period found in southwestern Michigan, northwestern Indiana, and northeastern Illinois.  His first M.A. thesis and his dissertation both examined ceramics from Goodall tradition sites, named for the Middle Woodland Goodall site in northwestern Indiana.  Bill’s decades of work on the topic created new insights into this cultural tradition which was probably one of the first formally named archaeological entities (as the Goodall Focus) in Indiana.  He grew up in Three Oaks, Michigan and documented many sites in the Galien river basin, including a previously unknown mound and an important Paleoindian site.  He was always willing to share his time and knowledge. For example, he helped the Northwest Indiana Archaeological Society conduct professional-quality excavations, and was a regular and reliable guest lecturer at University of Notre Dame field schools where he loved spending the day in the field talking to the students. 

He was also a gifted artist.  In addition to illustrating his theses and dissertation with finely drawn images of artifacts, he produced many paintings (especially natural landscapes) which had a serene and calming air.  He was also an accomplished potter.  Many of his ceramic projects incorporated designs and decorative elements derived from those of precontact ceramics.

Bill will be missed, not only for his contributions to Midwestern archaeology, but as a friend who was always generous with his time and knowledge.  More information his life is available at https://www.southbendtribune.com/obituaries/psbn0996960.