Archaeology and the Book of Mormon

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Since the introduction of the Book of Mormon in 1830, both Mormon and non-Mormon archaeologists have studied its claims in reference to known archaeological evidence. Latter Day Saints generally believe that the Book of Mormon describes historical events, however the existence of the civilizations and people described in the Book of Mormon is not accepted by mainstream historians or archaeologists.

The Book of Mormon tells of three principal migrations of small groups of people who traveled, by boat, one circa 1000 B.C. and the other two circa 600 B.C. to what are now known as the Americas. These travelers and their descendants included the Jaredites, the Nephites and Lamanites, and the descendants of Mulek also known as Mulekites. The founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, Joseph Smith, taught that the Lamanites were the ancestors of the modern day American Indians.

There is a general consensus amongst members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that the people described in the Book of Mormon lived somewhere on either North or South America,^[1] but also that the purpose of the book is not to document the history of the people described within it.^[2] Authorities of the LDS Church emphasize that the Book of Mormon is primarily a religious record^[3], although they also claim that it is a historical work.

The Smithsonian Institution has stated that the Institute "considers the Book of Mormon a religious document and not a scientific guide," but also states that it "has found no archaeological evidence to support [the book's] claims."^[4][5] Similarly, the National Geographic Society has stated "Archaeologists and other scholars have long probed the hemisphere's past and the society does not know of anything found so far that has substantiated the Book of Mormon."^[6]

Contents 1 State of archaeological research in reference to the Americas and the Book of Mormon 2 Organizational statements regarding the Book of Mormon 2.1 Smithsonian Institution 2.2 National Geographic Society 3 LDS efforts to establish Book of Mormon archaeology 3.1 Apologetics and archaeology 3.2 Early attempts 3.3 Modern approach 4 LDS cultural belief regarding Book of Mormon archaeology 4.1 Traditional views of New World population 4.2 LDS academic views of New World population 5 Genetic studies 6 Archaeological evidence of large populations 6.1 The challenge of determining a New World geographic location 6.2 Book of Mormon compared to Biblical archaeology 6.3 Existing ancient records of the New World 6.4 Joseph Smith's statements regarding Book of Mormon geography 7 Proposed Book of Mormon geographical setting 7.1 Old World setting 7.1.1 Lehi's Arabian journey 7.1.2 Lehi's Ancient home 7.1.3 People of Lihy 7.1.4 Valley of Lemuel/River of Laman 7.1.5 Nahom 7.1.6 Bountiful 7.2 New World setting 7.2.1 Hemispheric Geography Model 7.2.2 Limited Geography Model 7.3 Alternative settings 8 Efforts to correlate Book of Mormon cultures with New World cultures 8.1 The Jaredites and the Olmec 8.2 The Lamanites and The Maya 8.3 The Nephites 8.4 Systems of measuring time (calendars) 8.5 Warfare 8.5.1 Military fortifications 9 Efforts to correlate ruins and artifacts 9.1 Artifacts 9.1.1 Izapa Stela 5 9.1.2 Other artifacts 10 Flora and fauna 10.1 Animals 10.1.1 Horses 10.1.2 Elephants 10.1.3 Cattle 10.1.4 Swine 10.2 Plants 10.2.1 Grains 11 Technology 11.1 Wheeled vehicles 11.2 Recording records on metal plates 11.3 Metals 11.3.1 Steel 11.3.2 Iron 11.4 Weapons 11.4.1 Swords 11.4.2 Cimeters 11.5 Systems of exchange 11.6 Silk 12 Legends 12.1 Ancient American culture heroes 12.1.1 Quetzalcoatl 13 See also 14 Notes 15 References 16 External links

[edit] State of archaeological research in reference to the Americas and the Book of Mormon

A great deal of data have been accumulated over more than two hundred years of American archaeological research.^{[citation needed]} While the completeness of this research suffers in comparison with Old World archaeology, substantial insights into pre-Columbian civilizations, technologies, movements, and history have been established. These include the Formative Mesoamerican civilizations such as the (Pre-Classic) Maya, Olmec and Zapotec, which flourished during the approximate period the events related in the Book of Mormon are said to have occurred.

The Book of Mormon describes three heavily populated, literate, technologically advanced^[7] civilizations. The record primarily deals with the Nephites and the Lamanites, who existed in the Americas from about 600 BC to AD 400. It also deals with the rise and fall of the Jaredite nation, which the Book of Mormon claims existed in the Americas starting at the time of the Tower of Babel (which many Biblical literalist scholars date to between 3100 BC and 2200 BC) until as late as 400 BC.

Mainstream historians and archaeologists do not recognise the existence of these people as historical fact, and it is noted that there have not been identified any specific archaeological artifacts that link to the "supposedly advanced and widespread Nephite civilization" described in the Book of Mormon.^[8] Evangelical lecturer and journalist Richard Abanes argues that aspects of the Book of Mormon narrative do not agree with modern archaeology and claims that archaeologists and anthropologists view the Book of Mormon as a work of fiction.^[9][10] According to David Persuitte, the following are accounts in the Book of Mormon which are not supported by modern science:^[11]

• There were pre-Columbian peoples that were white, literate, and had knowledge of Hebrew and Egyptian languages and writing systems. (E.g. 1 Nephi 13:23 et. seq.)
• They smelted metal and made tools and weapons of iron, steel, and brass. (E.g. Ether 7:9, 10:23)
• They owned domesticated horses and cattle (see Horses in the Book of Mormon).
• They possessed chariots. (E.g. Alma 18:9-12)

[edit] Organizational statements regarding the Book of Mormon

[edit] Smithsonian Institution

The Smithsonian Institution issued an official statement in 1996 and again in 1998 that it considered the Book of Mormon to be "a religious document and not a scientific guide", and hence it had not used it in archaeological research.^[12]

During the early 1980s, reports circulated in LDS culture that the Book of Mormon was being used by the Smithsonian to guide primary archaeological research. This rumor was brought to the attention of Smithsonian directors who, in 1996, sent a form letter to inquiring parties stating that the Smithsonian did not use the Book of Mormon to guide any research, and included a list of specific reasons Smithsonian archaeologists considered the Book of Mormon historically unlikely.^[13] In 1998, the Smithsonian revised the form letter they sent in response to this issue to take a less controversial stance,^[14] specifically replacing detailed allegations of the non-historicity of the Book of Mormon with a simple statement that the Book of Mormon has not been used by the Smithsonian in any form of archaeological research. Mormon scholars suggest this may have been because the 1996 letter contradicts some aspects of research published by Smithsonian staff members; Non-LDS scholars note that the Smithsonian has not retracted any of its previous statements, and feel that the response was toned down to avoid negative public relations with Mormons. Terryl Givens suggests that the change in the statement was "in all likelihood a product of controversy-avoidance."^[15] Some Mormon scholars speculate that the statement may have been revised because some of the reasons listed are considered controversial or even dubious (for reasons unrelated to the Book of Mormon) by some mainstream historians.^[14]

[edit] National Geographic Society

The National Geographic Society, in a 1998 letter to the Institute for Religious Research, stated "Archaeologists and other scholars have long probed the hemisphere's past and the society does not know of anything found so far that has substantiated the Book of Mormon."^[16]

[edit] LDS efforts to establish Book of Mormon archaeology

[edit] Apologetics and archaeology

Many believing Book of Mormon researchers have in the late twentieth century shifted their focus from "apologetics" to "studies."^{[citation needed]} This has generally resulted in better scholarship among believers^{[original research?]} as researchers have focused more on real answers than on talking points, though ironically this shift of focus has provided better material for apologists^{[citation needed]}. In fact, a recent evangelical publication lamented the lack of serious scholarship responding to the "sophistication and erudition" of LDS apologetic scholarship.^[17] For Book of Mormon researchers "archaeology and The Book of Mormon" is no longer driven solely by the apologist/skeptic debate, but by a serious research interest in the Book of Mormon itself.

The following are some of the specific reasons most Mormon apologists do not place much emphasis on apologetics through archaeology:

1. The Prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints encourages conversion through faith and personal revelation^[18]
2. Though some consensuses are being formed, Book of Mormon studies are still in their youth.
3. Both casual LDS and non-LDS researchers tend to make errors of assumption because
   • Some interpretations of the text of The Book of Mormon suggest there may have been other people and cultures in the same lands at the same time, possibly large populations and many different cultures.^[19]
   • The Book of Mormon narrative says that the Lamanites hunted down and destroyed the surviving Nephites and conceivably most evidence of the Nephite civilization and culture.

[edit] Early attempts

Commencing in the early 1840s, Latter Day Saints sought to support the Book of Mormon with John Lloyd Stephens’ bestseller Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas, and Yucatan. Stephens’ two volume work was promoted by well meaning church members, as an essential guide to the ruins of Book of Mormon cities. Archaeological endeavors stemming from this tradition have led to disappointment and confusion among the faithful. In the fall of 1842, a Mormon newspaper article appearing in Times and Seasons alleged that the ruins of Quirigua, discovered by Stephens, were the very ruins of Zarahemla or some other Book of Mormon city.^[20]It is now known that these Central American ruins date more recent than Book of Mormon times. Other articles followed, including one published shortly after the death of Joseph Smith. Every Latter-day Saint was encouraged to read Stephens' bestseller and to regard the stone ruins described in it, as relating to the Book of Mormon.^[21] Regardless of erroneous claims in these articles, the opinions inaugurated a romance which took the interests and imaginations of generations of Latter-day Saints thousands of miles away from the place where Joseph Smith said he obtained the Nephite record.

Some Latter-day Saints have based their conclusions regarding archaeology and the Book of Mormon on fraudulent archaeological data.^[22] In recent years, this has caused LDS scholars to take a very critical approach to the work of other LDS researchers on the subject. Mormon scholar John Sorenson states that "LDS scholars themselves have attacked the same shoddy scholarship that makes Book of Mormon archaeology a playground for hobbyists."^[23]It should be noted, however, that even with LDS methods becoming more erudite, the Central American Zarahemla tradition, which is not clearly based on Mormon scripture, continues as a major LDS paradigm.

[edit] Modern approach

Several candidates considered likely by LDS researchers^[24] have been proposed for the Middle Eastern sites mentioned in the Book of Mormon. However, fewer distinct landmarks are agreed upon relative to the Book of Mormon’s American setting. LDS scholars readily accept traditional biblical sites (e.g. “Carmel”^[25]), but some are unwilling to accept the only New World Book of Mormon landmark, addressed in LDS scripture, (“Cumorah”^[26]) because it does not fit with the presumed Mesoamerican setting. Not accepting this landmark makes LDS study in the Western Hemisphere less definite - without a single fixed reference. Because of confusion brought about by attempts to establish a New World archaeology, most Mormon scholars now take a different approach: analyze archaeological findings for parallels and correlations with information found in the Book of Mormon. Although LDS scholars have found no indisputable proof of the book's historicity, they have accumulated a large amount of what they believe is supporting evidence.

In addition to the search for supporting physical evidence, John L. Sorenson has attempted to apply a "flesh-and-blood" reality to the cultures in the Book of Mormon. This approach uses what the authors refer to as "contextual knowledge" in order to establish a plausible setting for the cultural events of the Book of Mormon within the context of known Mesoamerican historical settings. The goal is to determine places and times at which Book of Mormon events occurred that correlate with similar events in the Mesoamerican historical record.^[27]

From the mid-1950s onwards, the Church-owned Brigham Young University has sponsored (under the banner of the New World Archaeological Foundation, or NWAF) a large number of archaeological excavations in Mesoamerica, with a focus on the Mesoamerican time period known as the Preclassic (earlier than c. AD 200).^[28] The results of these and other investigations, while producing valuable archaeological data, have not led to any widespread acceptance by non-LDS archaeologists of the Book of Mormon account.^[29] They have, however, led to increased respect for LDS archaeological efforts in the field.^[30]

[edit] LDS cultural belief regarding Book of Mormon archaeology

[edit] Traditional views of New World population

Most members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints accept the historicity of the Book of Mormon claim that ancient Israelites traveled to the Americas. Some church members believe that the three groups mentioned in the Book of Mormon exclusively populated an empty North and South American Continent. This was the majority belief within the church from the founding of the religion until the twentieth century, and this view was incorporated by Orson Pratt into his footnotes for the 1879 edition of the Book of Mormon^{[citation needed]}. This view implies an essentially empty America into which the first of the three migrants, the Jaredites, came after leaving the Tower of Babel. However, the LDS Church never gave an official interpretation of the Book of Mormon geography^{[citation needed]}, and the geographical footnotes were removed from the 1920 and all subsequent editions of the Book of Mormon. Beginning in the early twentieth century, the traditional claim that the migrations described in the Book of Mormon were the means by which the Western Hemisphere was populated became less prevalent. Whereas early members of the church had used the terms "Lamanite" and "Indian" interchangeably, a 1938 church study guide asserted that "all the Book of Mormon text requires" is a "Hebrew origin for at least a part of Indian ancestry".^[31] In the mid-twentieth century Mormon scholar Hugh Nibley proposed that all pre-Columbian remains need not belong to Book of Mormon people, and that the notion that the "only people permitted in the hemisphere before Columbus were either descendants of Lehi or of Jared and his brother" was incorrect.^[32] John Sorenson demonstrated that the change from the traditional Mormon teaching to the more limited geographical interpretation continued to make headway, and that the majority of Mormon authors had come to believe in the new limited geographic interpretation by the mid-twentieth century.^[33]

[edit] LDS academic views of New World population

LDS scholars, however, have long taken a more critical view regarding the assumption that no other people were present in the New World at the time of Lehi's arrival.

• In 1927, Janne M. Sjödahl stated that "students of the Book of Mormon should be cautioned against the error of supposing that all the American Indians are the descendants of Lehi, Mulek and their companions."^[34]
• In 1938 a church study guide for the Book of Mormon stated that "the Book of Mormon deals only with the history and expansion of three small colonies which came to America, and it does not deny or disprove the possibility of other immigrations, which probably would be unknown to its writers."^[35]
• From 1952 onward, LDS scholar Hugh Nibley repeatedly argued that the assumption that there were no other people present in the New World at the time of Lehi's arrival might be incorrect.
• In 1980 Nibley, referring to archaeological evidence, stated that the assumption of an empty New World represented a "simplistic reading" of the Book of Mormon.^[36] By the middle of the twentieth century, most LDS authors held the belief that the Book of Mormon events took place within a limited region in Mesoamerica, and that others were present on the continent at the time of Lehi's arrival.^[37]
• This geographical and population model was formally published in the official church magazine, The Ensign, in September 1984,^[38] and was followed by a book on the subject by LDS anthropologist John L. Sorenson in 1985.^[39]

[edit] Genetic studies

Main article: Genetics and the Book of Mormon

The Book of Mormon narrative tells of three migrations of people from the Old World: Jaredites, an ancient civilization that was destroyed; Nephites and Lamanites, descended from the Israelite tribe of Joseph; and Mulekites, also descended from Israelites. Though the Book of Mormon itself makes no overt assertions regarding the migration or non-migration of other groups to America, an introductory paragraph added to the book identified the Lamanites as being "among the principal ancestors of the American Indians."^[40] Most mainstream Mormons believe that the Lamanites of the Book of Mormon are the ancestors of the Native Americans of North and South America^{[citation needed]}. This assertion and belief has caused some controversy as current genetic studies show that the principal ancestors of the Native Americans are Asian, not Israelite. These conclusions are disputed by Mormon scholars. (See Genetics and the Book of Mormon for a detailed discussion on this topic).

[edit] Archaeological evidence of large populations

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While the book does not state whether or not these three civilizations were the sole inhabitants of the ancient Americas, most LDS scholars have interpreted certain parts of the text as being indicative of the presence of and interactions with other groups of people whose origins are not stated.^[41] Though no complete population counts are given in the book, there are indications given of the number of people present in the Nephite civilization at various points in time. Four centuries after the arrival of Lehi's party, Zeniff's small Nephite colony is attacked by the Lamanites in a battle in which three thousand forty-three Lamanites are said to have died (Mosiah 9:18). In 87 B.C., a battle is said to have claimed the lives of over nineteen thousand Nephites and Lamanites. At one point in the history portrayed, some Mormon scholars estimate that the population described in these Book of Mormon civilization(s) ranged between 300,000 and 1.5 million people.^[42] For example, the Book of Mormon asserts specifically that in just one battle near the hill Cumorah about two hundred and thirty thousand soldiers were killed on one side alone (Mormon 6:12-15). By 385 A.D., the number of Nephite soldiers killed is estimated to be close to a quarter million people.^[43] The Jaredite civilization was likely much larger: the final war that destroyed the Jaredite civilization killed at least two million men ^[44].

The Book of Mormon states that there were pre-Columbian peoples that were white, literate, had knowledge of Old World languages, and possessed Old World derived writing systems.^[45] They smelted metal and made tools and weapons of iron, steel, and brass.^[46] They owned domesticated horses and cattle. They possessed chariots.^[47] The people covered the "entire land." The civilization described by these passages and scores of others in the Book of Mormon should yield certain types of discoveries in the pre-Columbian archaeological record.^[48] The lack of evidence of the Book of Mormon civilizations is problematic for the Book of Mormon. LDS scholars answer that there is a growing body of evidence of the book's authenticity. These evidences, however, are not accepted by mainstream archaeologists.^[49]

Based upon Book of Mormon population estimates, the civilizations described would be roughly the size of a few other archaeologically prominent civilizations—Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome and Maya—which also thrived at about the same time as putative Book of Mormon civilizations^{[original research?]}. These civilizations left numerous artifacts in the form of ruins, tombs, temples, pyramids, roads, arches, walls, frescos, statues, vases, coins, etc.^{[citation needed]} Skeptics argue that if large-scale and long-lived civilizations such as those mentioned in the Book of Mormon had existed in the New World, then solid physical evidence of their remains should appear in the archaeological record of the Americas. Mormon scholars^[who?] reply that evidence of these civilizations has indeed been found, and that it is simply not accepted as such by the mainstream archaeological community.^{[citation needed]} One LDS researcher points to settlement patterns that appear to correlate with those indicated in the Book of Mormon in both location and date.^[50]

[edit] The challenge of determining a New World geographic location

There are no groups involved in primary research on Book of Mormon archaeology outside of the Mormon academic community. No archaeological finding, as yet, has been accepted by the non-Mormon archaeological community as indisputable evidence that the book has a historical connection to Native Americans.

The New World portion of the geographical record of the Book of Mormon does not conform to most of the settings proposed by LDS researchers. Many LDS scholars promote the Mesoamerican Tehuantapec setting, but this setting is not without significant difficulties. Non-LDS researchers suggest that there are few, if any, definitive indicators within the text itself to consistently place it within any real-world setting.^[51]

Similar to Old World archaeology, the archaeological record of the Americas is incomplete and faces many challenges. Of the thousands of pre-Columbian archaeological sites presently known across the continent, only a small number have been documented in exhaustive detail. In addition, some archaeological sites have been compromised and even destroyed outright by ongoing natural processes and the encroachment of urbanization and agricultural land-use. An example of this trend is the Early and Preclassic Mayan archaeological site of Kaminaljuyu. Of the hundreds of temple mounds that once existed there, most have been destroyed by the expansion of Guatemala City.^[52]

Much of North American prehistory is generally misunderstood because of common misperceptions, stereotypes, and lack of preservation. For example, many are not aware of the existence of stone and mortar Maya cities in Mexico, structured stone and clay mortar pueblos of the Ancient Pueblo Peoples of the Southwest, or complex centers of flat-topped platform mounds of the Mississippian culture in the Eastern United States.^[53] Despite the existence of these complex cultures in North America, many indiscriminately identify the majority of Native Americans as migratory (hunters/gatherers and tepee or wigwam dwellers).

[edit] Book of Mormon compared to Biblical archaeology

Both LDS and non-LDS scholars compare the state of Book of Mormon archaeology with Biblical archaeology, with both groups acknowledging that the number of locatable places in the Book of Mormon pales when compared to the number found in the Bible. The advantage that Biblical archaeology has is that the geographical setting for the Bible is already known, or at least is presumed endemically by tradition. LDS scholars point out that one challenge for establishing Book of Mormon archaeology in Mesoamerica is that ancient location names in the proposed Mesoamerican setting do not seem to appear at the present day, making the proposed Book of Mormon setting difficult to verify.^[54]

[edit] Existing ancient records of the New World

Similar to frequent and massive losses of ancient writings in the Old World (in deliberate or accidental fires, in wars, earthquakes, floods, etc), much of the literature of the Pre-Columbian Maya was also destroyed during the Spanish conquest in the 1500s.^[55] On this point, Michael Coe noted:

Nonetheless, our knowledge of ancient Maya thought must represent only a tiny fraction of the whole picture, for of the thousands of books in which the full extent of their learning and ritual was recorded, only four have survived to modern times (as though all that posterity knew of ourselves were to be based upon three prayer books and Pilgrim's Progress).^[56]

However, in addition to the four surviving pre-Columbian Maya codices mentioned by Coe, there are also a number of documents dating from the 16th century conquest and shortly after, in which indigenous scribes or Spanish interlocutors recorded facets of Maya (and other) historical accounts and beliefs.^{[citation needed]}

The Maya civilization also left behind a vast corpus of inscriptions (upwards of ten thousand are known^[57]) written in the Maya script, the earliest of which date from around the 3rd century BC with the majority written in the Classic Period (c. 250 - 900 AD).^[58] Mayanist scholarship is now able to decipher a large number of these inscriptions. These inscriptions are mainly concerned with the activities of Mayan rulers and the commemoration of significant events, with the oldest known Long Count date corresponding to December 7, 36 B.C. being recorded on Chiapa de Corzo Stela 2 in central Chiapas.^[59] It has been claimed that none of these inscriptions make contact with events, places, rulers or timeline of Book of Mormon.^[60]

One LDS researcher uses as supporting evidence ancient Mesoamerican accounts that appear to parallel events recorded in the Book of Mormon.^[61]

[edit] Joseph Smith's statements regarding Book of Mormon geography

It is not certain that Joseph Smith placed Book of Mormon lands in Central America. His published statements indicate that Book of Mormon peoples or their descendants, migrated from “the lake country of America” (near Lake Ontario) to Mexico and Central America^[62]. In 1841 Joseph Smith read Stephens’ Incidents of Travel in Central America. Smith held Stephens’ work in high regard and recommended it.^[63] However, Stephens’ bestseller did not change Smith’s position that Book of Mormon events took place in northern America, in lands occupied by the United States. In his “AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES” editorial of July, 1842, Joseph Smith corroborates wars described in the Book of Mormon with archaeological finds in northern America. Joseph Smith quotes Josiah Priest’s American Antiquities as follows:

On the shores of the Mississippi, some miles below Lake Pipin, on a fine plain, exists an artificial elevation of about four feet high, extending a full miles, in somewhat of a circular form. It is sufficiently capacious to have covered 5000 men. Every angle of the breastwork is yet traceable, though much defaced by time. Here, it is likely, conflicting realms as great as those of the ancient Greeks and Persians, decided the fate of ambitious Monarchs, of the Chinese, Mongol descent. Weapons of brass have been found in many parts of America, as in the Canadas, Florida, &c., with curiously sculptured stones, all of which go to prove that this country was once peoples with civilized, industrious nations… ^[64]

Editor Joseph Smith then proceeds to comment (in the “American Antiquities” Times and Seasons article) that “The Book of Mormon speaks of ores, swords, cities, armies, &c.…In regards to there being great wars, the following will shew [show]:” Joseph Smith then quotes from the Book of Mormon the account of the battle of Coriantumr and Shiz (found in Ether 15:12-16 of the current edition) and concludes with the following remarks:

If men, in their researches into the history of this country, in noticing the mounds, fortification, statues, architecture, implements of war, of husbandry, and ornaments of silver, brass, &c.-were to examine the Book of Mormon, their conjectures would be removed, and their opinions altered; uncertainty and doubt would be changed into certainty and facts; and they would find that those things that they are anxiously prying into were matters of history, unfolded in that book…-ED^[65]

Joseph Smith associates earth, timber and metal works found in northern America (presumably artifacts of mound builder societies) with implements and constructions described in the Book of Mormon.^[66]As much as Joseph Smith approved of Stephens’ work, he only makes minor mention of it, and then only to conclude in his “American Antiquities” editorial, that the peoples of Central America are tied historically to the Book of Mormon. Regarding the peoples of Central America, Joseph Smith exact words are, “the Book of Mormen [Mormon] unfolds their history"^[67] Smith does not actually say that Book of Mormon lands are to be found in Central America. This assertion came later in several unsigned newspaper articles, published in the fall of 1842. These articles were likely written by other church members for Joseph Smith was not publicly present to oversee their publication. One of the articles in question mentions “Joseph Smith” in the third person. This same article alleges that Lehi “landed a little south of the Isthmus of Darien” which would place Lehi’s landing on a western shore of South America^[68]. The 1842 Times and Seasons editorials, written by Joseph Smith, are readily identified as they end with his “ED”^[69]. Joseph Smith had found it necessary to go into hiding for much of the fall that year^[70]. Though he was still official editor of the Times and Seasons, it is doubtful that he was acting editor at the time in as much as he was in hiding as Doctrine and Covenants 127:1 and 128:1 attest. LDS Church History Scholars believe that John Taylor may have served as “the acting editor for the Times and Seasons” in Joseph's absence^[71]. In November of 1842, Joseph Smith officially resigned as editor, explaining that, “The multiplicity of other business that daily devolves upon me, renders it impossible for me to do justice to a paper so widely circulated as the Times and Seasons.” John Taylor was then made official editor of the newspaper^[72].

Published in the same issue as the unsigned “ZARAHEMLA” article (October 1842) with its anachronistic claims about the ruins of Quirigua, is a signed epistle to the church from the Mormon prophet in hiding. In Joseph Smith’s letter (canonized as the 128th section of the Doctrine and Covenants) the Book of Mormon land Cumorah is referenced among other locations of significance near the Finger Lakes.^[73]

Several earlier statements by Joseph Smith, indicate that events described in the Book of Mormon took place in lands occupied by the United States of America. In an 1833 letter to N.C. Saxton, Smith wrote:

The Book of Mormon is a record of the forefathers of our western tribes of Indians; having been found through the ministration of an holy angel, and translated into our own language by the gift and power [of] God, after having been hid up in the earth for the last fourteen hundred years, containing the word of God which was delivered unto them. By it we learn that our western tribes of Indians are descendants from that Joseph that was sold into Egypt, and that the land [of] America is a promised land unto them, and unto it, all the tribes of Israel will come, with as many of the Gentiles as shall comply with the requisitions of the new covenant. But the tribe of Judah will return to old Jerusalem.^[74]

The expression, “our western tribes of Indians” refers to Indian tribes who lived west, or were pushed west from the east coast of the United States by European expansion. LDS missionaries were sent to these peoples in the early days of the Church. Latter-day scripture refers to these peoples as “Lamanites”^[75]. Several passages in LDS scripture associate these native peoples with peoples of the Book of Mormon^[76]. LDS scripture teaches that the land of their Book of Mormon ancestors (now occupied by the United States of America) was ordained to become a land “free unto all…”^[77]. The ancient land of their inheritance is, according to LDS scripture, associated with the land of “New Jerusalem.”^[78]. New Jerusalem, “the city of Zion” is, according to LDS scripture to be built in northern America ^[79].

On June 4, 1834, during the Zion's Camp trek through Illinois, Joseph Smith stated that the group was "wandering over the plains of the Nephites, recounting occasionally the history of the Book of Mormon, roving over the mounds of that once beloved people of the Lord, picking up their skulls & their bones, as proof of its divine authenticity…"^[80] Joseph Smith came to believe that the Maya ruins on the Yucatán Peninsula discovered in the late 1830s, offered evidence in support of the Book of Mormon's authenticity. After reading about the accounts, he proclaimed the ruins were likely Nephite or belonging to “the ancient inhabitants of America treated of in the Book of Mormon”.^[81]In view of the position that ancient peoples migrated from the north into Mexico and Central America, Joseph Smith’s linking of Mesoamerican artifacts with “ancient inhabitants …of …the Book of Mormon” is not inconsistent with his statements placing Book of Mormon lands in northern America. Just prior to publishing the AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES editorial (citing northern American evidence of Book of Mormon history), Joseph Smith recorded:

Messrs. Stephens and Catherwood have succeeded in collecting in the interior of America a large amount of relics of the Nephites, or the ancient inhabitants of America treated of in the Book of Mormon, which relics have recently been landed in New York.^[82]

Stephens brought to New York hundreds of artifacts from Mayan sites. Among these were sculptures and architectural remnants. Shortly after arriving in New York, most of these relics were lost when the building that housed them was destroyed by fire.^[83] According to Mormon 6:5, Nephite civilization came to an end near the year 384 A.D. Copan, Quirigua and sites in the Yucatan visited by Stephens and Catherwood, contain artifacts that date more recent than Book of Mormon times. It has not been shown that any of Stephens’ artifacts, referred to by Joseph Smith, date to Book of Mormon times, and Joseph Smith does not actually make this assertion.

The first history of the Church was written in 1834 and 1835 by Oliver Cowdery, as a series of articles published serially in the Church's Messenger and Advocate. In this history, Cowdery stated that the final battle between the Nephites and the Lamanites occurred at the "Hill Cumorah," the very same Hill Cumorah in New York, where Joseph Smith said he obtained golden plates and other artifacts which were used to translate the Book of Mormon. These plates and artifacts were shown to only a few witnesses and never to the general public. The plates were later claimed to have been removed via divine means. Cowdery also identified the Jaredites' final battle as occurring in the same area as the Nephite/Lamanite final battle. Since Smith was an editor of the Messenger and Advocate and approved the history, all but proponents of limited South American and Mesoamerican geography theories believe it conclusively demonstrated Joseph Smith’s belief as well. In any case, evidence appears to show that Smith did not subscribe to the limited Mesoamerican and South American geography theories promoted by some LDS today.^[84]Joseph Smith clearly advocated a northern American setting (near the Finger Lakes) for the Book of Mormon land Cumorah, hence Doctrine and Covenants 128:20.

Lucy Mack Smith, Joseph Smith’s mother, in her account of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, says that the divine messenger called the hill where the plates were deposited the “hill of Cumorah” meaning “hill of” the Book of Mormon land “Cumorah”. In another account, Mother Smith says that young Joseph, referred to the hill using this description.^[85] Joseph Smith’s preeminence as an authority on the Book of Mormon is evinced by the following account given by his mother:

During our evening conversations, Joseph, would occasionally give us some of the most amusing recitals that could be imagined. He would describe the ancient inhabitants of this continent, their dress, mode of traveling, and the animals upon which they rode; their cities and buildings, with every particular; their mode of warfare; and also their religious worship. This he would do with as much ease, seemingly, as if he had spent his whole life among them.^[86]

Efforts to associate Joseph Smith with the geographic notions of his contemporaries remain speculative. A note in the handwriting of Frederick G. Williams, one of Joseph Smith's counselors and scribes, asserts that Lehi's people landed in South America at thirty degrees south latitude.^[87]Early LDS church leader, Orson Pratt also speculated that the Nephite landing site was on the coast of Chile near Valparaiso, but Pratt indicated that this hypothesis was arrived at by supposition, not divine revelation^[88] There is no proof that William’s unsigned, undated writing represents a revelation given to Joseph Smith. An official statement by the LDS Church discourages Church members from making too much of the William’s document.^[89]

[edit] Proposed Book of Mormon geographical setting

As with Bible studies, considerable effort in Book of Mormon studies has been focused on establishing a credible real world setting for the narrative. The Book of Mormon narrative begins at Jerusalem and follows a straightforward route along the Gulf of Suez, then across the Arabian Peninsula eastward, then apparently across the Pacific Ocean to the New World. Joseph Smith said he acquired the Book of Mormon in the state of New York. Between these two bookends, the setting for the main Book of Mormon narrative (and the sub-narrative of the Jaredites as told in the Book of Ether) is not obvious. There are two major divisions of Book of Mormon archaeology: The Old World and the New World.

[edit] Old World setting

The Old World narrative portion has proven much more fruitful for Mormon scholars where there are only two separate, but overlapping theories on the sites described in Lehi's journey to the Ocean, and the identification of locations, such as Nahom, that most Mormon scholars consider to be a confirmed location.^[90]

Recent trends in Book of Mormon archaeology have focused on the Arabian peninsula in the Middle East as the early accounts in the Book of Mormon do describe actual locations. Many Mormon researchers are confident that evidence found in Yemen and Oman correlates with the account of Lehi's family's journey southward from Jerusalem to a place on the Arabian peninsula called "Bountiful" by Lehi, where they built ships to come to the Americas.^[91]

Another Old World connection to the Book of Mormon occurred in 1997 when an ancient Judean stamp seal was identified as bearing the Hebrew form of the name "Malchiah son of Hammelech".^[92] It is argued that this ancient Judean stamp seal belongs to Mulek, a man who is mentioned in the Bible and briefly identified in the Book of Mormon as the only surviving son of Zedekiah, king of Judah.^[93]

[edit] Lehi's Arabian journey

The Book of Mormon describes a 600 B.C. journey of two families from Jerusalem along the east side of the Red Sea, then east across the Arabian Peninsula from 600 B.C. to 592 B.C. The details and locations encountered on this journey are very clearly described in the text.^[94] Through most of the twentieth century, no information was available to confirm the narrative of an encampment at a continually running stream (River of Laman) in a valley (of Lemuel) at the "fount of the Red Sea," of a burial at a place "called Nahom," of a "Bountiful" place on the east side of the Arabian Peninsula where multiple narrative details occur, or of any other detail of Lehi's Arabian journey. In the late twentieth and the early twenty-first centuries, LDS researchers have located plausible candidates for each of these places that they believe correlate with the route of Lehi's journey. Field studies and research on these and other locations related to this subject are ongoing.

Based on extensive text analysis and field work in Arabia, a number of LDS researchers have concluded that plausible locations exist for every important Arabian site mentioned along the route of Lehi's journey. These include, the 'borders near and nearer' the Red Sea, Shazer (where they stopped to hunt), the most fertile parts, the trees from which Nephi made his bow, Nahom, Nephi’s eastwardly trail to Bountiful, and Bountiful.^[95]

Most Mormon scholars believe that Lehi and his family interacted with locals during their travels, and even taught the gospel to those they came in contact with.^[96] Some scholars even suggest that Lehi's group might have been in bondage to others in the area for a period of time.^[97]

[edit] Lehi's Ancient home

Some speculate^[who?] that Khirbet Beit Lei ("Ruin of the House of Lei") may have been a place where Lehi lived. In the area, there is a cave with ancient Hebrew writing that can be dated to the 6th Century B.C., and local legend holds that an ancient prophet named "Lei" lived and judged the people in the village at a time corresponding to the Book of Mormon narrative.^{[citation needed]}

Some LDS historians^[who?] believe this cave could have been the location where Lehi's sons stayed while trying to retrieve the Brass Plates, based on prophecies written on the walls of the cave. While there are some striking similarities and circumstantial evidence to support this view, there is no concrete evidence that "Lehi" and "Lei" are connected. Because the evidence is circumstantial, FARMS has offered caution against tying the two together.^[98]

The site remains a popular destination for LDS tourists.

[edit] People of Lihy

A tribe called the Lihyanites (“People of Lihy”) came into existence between the 6th and 4th century B.C. in the area of al-Bad on the Arabian peninsula, and left behinds ruins, including a temple, a ceremonial font and inscriptions.^[99]. Lynn and Hope Hilton have speculated that the passage of Lehi through this area around 600 B.C. had an influence upon an existing tribe, and that they adopted his name.^[100] LDS scholars caution, however, that "far too little is yet known about early Arabia to strengthen a link with the historical Lehi, and other explanations are readily available for every point advanced, attractive and intriguing as they may be to Latter-day Saints."^[101]

[edit] Valley of Lemuel/River of Laman

The Wadi Tayyib al-Ism, 72 miles by trail from Aqaba, is considered to be a plausible location for the River of Laman by some LDS researchers.^[102] Another LDS researcher, citing problems with the proposed Wadi Tayyib al-Ism location, indicates that there are a number of other sites along the Gulf of Eilat's eastern shoreline that meet the requirements for this location, such as one of the wadis near the shore at Bir Marsha.^[103]

[edit] Nahom

Main article: Nahom

The Book of Mormon states that Ishmael, the patriarch of the family that left with Lehi's, was buried "in the place which was called Nahom" early in the journey from Jerusalem to Bountiful. It was also at Nahom that the travelers made a significant change in the direction of their travel from "south-southeast" to "nearly eastward." It is significant that "Nahom" is one of the few places mentioned in the Book of Mormon that was not named by Lehi, thus suggesting that this was a pre-existing place name. This Nahom has been equated by a number of LDS scholars with a location in Yemen referred to as "NHM" (Vowels in ancient Hebrew are spoken but not always written^[104]). The name NHM is referred to in inscriptions found on altars dated to about 600 B.C.E.. The altars were found in a location consistent with the location at which Lehi's party would have had to change their route toward the east. The modern name of the location is "Nihm" and it is known as an ancient burial site and is south-southeast of Jerusalem. A turn nearly due east at this location (as described in the Book of Mormon) would bring Lehi's group to the place Bountiful on the eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula".^[105][106]

There are a variety of challenges to the claim that Nahom correlates with NHM. Some claim that Joseph Smith might have learned of NHM from existing 19th century sources.^[107] Some suggest that either the vowels or consonants between the word Nahom and various derivatives of the root NHM do not represent an accurate correlation.^[108]

[edit] Bountiful

Main article: Bountiful (Book of Mormon)

LDS scholars believe they have located several plausible locations for the land Bountiful, as well as the place Bountiful where the Book of Mormon says Lehi camped and the harbour where it says Nephi built his ship for the purpose of crossing the ocean to come to the Americas. The location of Salalah was proposed by Hugh Nibley and is supported by Lynn and Hope Hilton.^[109] The location at Khor Rori is supported by Potter and Wellington of the Nephi Project.^[110] The location of Wadi Sayq (west of Salalah near the border of Yemen) and it's associated harbor Khor Kharfot is supported by Warren Aston.^[111]

[edit] New World setting

The New World setting for the Book of Mormon narrative has been placed everywhere from South and Central America to the Finger Lakes region in New York (possibly referring to the Mound Builders), which some equate to the fortifications described in the Book of Mormon.

[edit] Hemispheric Geography Model

LDS scripture indicates that early church members did not exhibit great attention to Book of Mormon detail ^[112]. An exaggerated, two-continent geography for the Book of Mormon satisfied the minds of many Latter-day Saints. The hemispheric model is readily arrived at by cursorily reading the Book of Mormon in view of maps of the Western Hemisphere. In as much as there is no firsthand statement by Joseph Smith espousing a hemispheric setting for the Book of Mormon, it is not definite that he held this view. From first hand statements we find Joseph Smith relating the history of the Book of Mormon to “the aboriginal inhabitants of this country…” (North America) The peoples that survived the fall of the Nephite nation are according to Smith “the Indians that now inhabit this country.” Smith said that he was divinely “…informed concerning the aboriginal inhabitants of this country, and shown who they were, and from whence they came; a brief sketch of their origin, progress, civilization, laws, government, of their righteousness and iniquity, and the blessings of God being finally withdrawn from them as a people was made known to me.” ^[113] Joseph Smith at the very least, taught that certain lands of the Book of Mormon were in his country.^[114] Various associates of Joseph Smith held divergent opinions regarding the location of Book of Mormon lands and sites.^[115] The opinion, for instance, that Lehi landed in Chile, as far south of the equator as Jerusalem is north, is inconsistent with the notion that Lehi landed a little south of the Isthmus of Darien. These South American settings are inconsistent with the idea that Zarahemla is in Guatemala, and all are incompatible with the Book of Mormon land and city of Manti placed in the United States^[116]. Only Joseph Smith’s reference to the Finger Lakes location of Cumorah is canonical (Doctrine and Covenants 128:20). Along with the assumption that the New World Book of Mormon’s setting encompasses all of the Americas, has been the tradition that the Lamanites are the "principal ancestors of the American Indians."^[117] The original text of the Book of Mormon makes no such generalization^[118] The Book of Mormon speaks of a narrow neck of land, and many readers, with the entire Western Hemisphere in mind, have presumed that the Isthmus of Panama, or even all of Central America fits this requirement.^[119]

[edit] Limited Geography Model

Main article: Limited Geography Model (Book of Mormon)

The Limited Geography Model, formally proposed by LDS scholars in 1984, states that the text of the Book of Mormon narrative itself supports a limited region only hundreds of miles in dimension and that other people were present in the New World at the time of Lehi's arrival.^[120] One book compiled by prominent Mormon scholar John Sorenson has more than 400 pages of possible location theories placing Book of Mormon events everywhere from the Finger Lakes region of the Northeast United States to Chile.^[121] The fact remains that aside from the Finger Lakes location of Cumorah (disregarded by some) there are no landmarks defined in LDS scripture, that will unambiguously identify New World Book of Mormon places.

After constructing an internal geographical model for the Book of Mormon and then comparing it to other proposed geographical regions, some LDS scholars assert that there is only a single plausible match with the geography in Mesoamerica centered around the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. This area includes the area of current day Guatemala, the southern Mexico States of Tabasco, Chiapas, Oaxaca, Veracruz, and the surrounding area.^[122]This region was first proposed as the location of Zarahemla (ruins of Quirigua) in the anonymous newspaper article of October 1, 1842 (Times and Seasons).

With Zarahemla posited in Guatemala, the pick of isthmuses to label as the “small neck” becomes rather limited. The lateral Isthmus of Tehuantepec is as wide as Florida, and its northern and southern seas are a problematic fit for “the sea, on the west and on the east” of the “narrow pass” (Alma 50:34). Curiously, the only Isthmus mentioned in the Times and Seasons “ZARAHEMLA” article is the Isthmus of Darien. The writer(s) of the newspaper article cite Alma 20:32 (pages 280-81 in the Book of Mormon 3rd edition). The “narrow strip of wilderness” south of Zarahemla (verse 27), is easily confused with “the small neck of land” north of Zarahemla (verse 32). The article clearly blunders in attributing the description of a “large stone …with engravings on it” to Mosiah, when in fact it was Amaleki son of Abinadom who described the stone (Omni 1:20). There is nothing in the 1842 article leading readers to place Cumorah in southern Mexico.

The Limited Mesoamerican Geography Model has been critiqued by a number of scholars, who suggest that it is not an adequate explanation for Book of Mormon geography and that the locations, events, flora and fauna described in it do not precisely match.^[123][124] In response to one of these critiques in 1994, Sorenson reaffirmed his proposal for a limited Mesoamerican geographical setting.^[125]

A limited geographical setting for the Book of Mormon has been suggested by several church leaders, including Joseph Smith^{[citation needed]}, Orson Pratt^{[citation needed]}, Parley P. Pratt^{[citation needed]}, and B. H. Roberts.^[126]

Scholar and author Venice Priddis speculated that the geographical setting of the Book of Mormon could be in South America.^[127]Author Phyllis Carol Olive cogently defends a limited geography setting based on scriptural Cumorah of the Finger Lakes^[128]

[edit] Alternative settings

Some Latter Day Saint scholars have suggested that it is possible that the events recorded in the Book of Mormon took place somewhere other than the Western Hemisphere. For example, one scholar has suggested that many Book of Mormon events could plausibly be placed in the Malay Peninsula.^[129] This author has acknowledged that consideration of his "Malay hypothesis" by LDS scholars would require Book of Mormon archaeology to "undergo a radical paradigm shift—one that many would consider quite far-fetched."^[129]

[edit] Efforts to correlate Book of Mormon cultures with New World cultures

LDS scholars have used the Mesoamerican geographical model to correlate Book of Mormon cultures with known cultures in the region. While such comparisons are performed in order to determine the plausibility of these correlations, it should be noted that neither the text of the Book of Mormon nor the scholars who support it make any definitive claim that the Book of Mormon describes the Olmec or Mayan civilizations.

[edit] The Jaredites and the Olmec

See also: Olmec alternative origin speculations

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Many LDS scholars^[who?] believe that the Olmec civilization matches the appropriate time and place to be identified with the Jaredite civilization in The Book of Mormon^{[citation needed][original research?]}. The Book of Mormon places the Jaredite civilization in the new world at the time of the Tower of Babel (estimated to be between 3100 BC and 2200 BC). The specific date of arrival in the New World is not identified. The Jaredite civilization in the American covenant land, is said to have been completely destroyed as the result of a civil war at the approximate time that Lehi's party is said to have arrived in the New World (approximately 590 B.C.). Jaredite civilization concentrated in “the land northward” according to the Book of Mormon. The land south of “the narrow neck” was preserved by the Jaredites as “a wilderness to get game”^[130]. Unlike the broad, lateral Isthmus of Tehuantepec, "the narrow pass" which led into the Book of Mormon "land northward" is described as having water on the west and on the east of it^[131]. Olmec civilization spread to both the east and west sides of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec^[132]. The Olmec civilization flourished in Mesoamerica during the Preclassic period, dating from 1200 BC to about 400 BC. The Olmec civilization suddenly disintegrated for unknown reasons, although archaeological evidence clearly indicates a definite Olmec influence within the Maya civilization that followed^{[citation needed]}. Although the Olmec civilization ended, there are indications that some of the Olmec people survived and interacted with other cultures.^[133]

[edit] The Lamanites and The Maya

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The Maya civilization has been suggested as the Lamanite culture depicted in the Book of Mormon^{[citation needed]}. There is substantial debate about whether the material and linguistic culture of these civilizations corresponds to the descriptions in the Book of Mormon^{[citation needed]}.

Establishing connections between ruins of the Mayan civilization (for example, Quirigua, Kaminaljuyu, and Tikal in Guatemala, and Copán in Honduras, and Palenque in Mexico) and the cities and civilizations mentioned in the Book of Mormon has been difficult for LDS scholars on a number of fronts. Perhaps the most significant issue is the dating. By Old-World standards, the Mayan ruins are relatively recent; conventional archaeology places the pinnacle of Mayan civilization several centuries after the final events in the Book of Mormon supposedly occurred. LDS scholars^[who?] suggest that the Book of Mormon record follows the Nephite civilization until its destruction, but the Lamanite civilization remained^{[citation needed]} (possibly the Maya^{[original research?]}). This would explain the more modern ruins that are from a much later time period^{[original research?]}.

The standard construction practice employed by the Maya was to build new structures on top of older structures. Many older structures are either contained within or their rubble is buried under the structures which were built later.^[134]

[edit] The Nephites

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No civilization has been identified as correlating with the Nephite culture. Due to this lack of evidence, some LDS scholars^[who?] postulate that the Nephite culture was characterized by unpretentious Christian discipleship inconsistent with impressive monuments and stone artisanship^{[citation needed]}. Critics dismiss this theory, since it proposes an unjustified explanation for a lack of evidence.

LDS scholars^[who?] propose several views: A Nephite culture may have existed within the greater Lamanite (usually Maya) culture^{[original research?]}. The Book of Mormon, however, makes no mention of Lamanites erecting impressive works of hewn stone as did the Maya. Another view holds that the events surrounding most of the Book of Mormon may have occurred in the Great Lakes region in ancient times^[135]. The Golden Plates were reported to have been found near this general area.

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The Book of Mormon mentions that Nephite infrastructure included “high ways”^[136]. Ancient highways of Central and South America are not the only possible candidate. Bradley T Lepper contends that the ancient peoples of Ohio constructed the Great Hopewell Road which is estimated to have been 90 kilometers long and 40 meters wide, and is believed to have connected present day Newark and Chillicothe, Ohio, in a straight line^[137]. Works of earth and timber are mentioned repeatedly in the Book of Mormon^[138]. Some of the earth and timberworks of North American mound builder societies predate stone works of the Maya, Aztecs and Incas^[139].

Nephite civilization was severely damaged at the time of Christ, with many major cities being completely destroyed. There is a 300 year period in the Book of Mormon after Christ’s arrival for which few details about Nephite civilization are recorded. The Book of Mormon indicates that damaged cities were rebuilt^[140]. Distant migrations may have also occurred^[141].

LDS scripture indicates that Nephite civilization situated near the Great Lakes / Finger Lakes region^[142]. LDS authors John L. Sorenson and David A. Palmer, on the other hand, propose a Mesoamerican setting for the Book of Mormon^[143]. According to 3 Nephi 8:5-19, Book of Mormon lands were subjected to three days of profound darkness, preceded by a period of electrical storms and earth quakes. The account of this destruction and particularly the palpable darkness, has led Sorenson and Palmer to speculate that local volcanism was involved^[144]. It is known that volcanic tephra including ash, can travel thousands of miles from an eruption^[145]. LDS theorists Sorenson and Palmer, however, conclude that Book of Mormon lands must reside in a volcanic zone ^[146]. There is no explicit mention of a volcano or volcanism in the Nephite record, and it has not been demonstrated that volcanism is the only mechanism capable of accounting for cloudy darkness described in LDS scripture. Plural “whirlwinds” (tornados), “lightnings”, “fire” and “smoke” are explicitly described^[147]. LDS author Phyllis Carol Olive notes documented occurrences of earthquakes and extraordinary daytime darkness in the regions of Canada north of New York^[148]. It should be noted that Olive is not an archaeologist, but her review of LDS scripture and firsthand statements by Joseph Smith on the subject of Book of Mormon lands, warrant consideration.

According to Joseph Smith the golden plates, the interpreters and breast plate were sealed in a cemented stone box near Lake Ontario and the Finger Lakes^[149]. Limited Mesoamerican and South American geography theorists must, out of necessity, argue that these artifacts were carried to the Finger Lakes region by a Mesoamerican or else South American Moroni, who journeyed thousands of miles, trying to escape from seemingly ever present Lamanites. It is evident from the Book of Mormon, however, that Moroni was still hiding from the Lamanites (Book of Mormon peoples) and robbers in Book of Mormon lands many years after the destruction of the Nephites ^[150]. He was still in Book of Mormon “north country” when he began his abridgement of the record of Ether. This is evident from his introductory remarks to the abridged Book of Ether, which mention “…the ancient inhabitants [Jaredites] who were destroyed…upon the face of this north country” ^[151]. Before completing the abridgement in his own language, Moroni sealed up the interpreters ^[152], Ether 5:1), and was still in Lamanite held territory (not thousands of miles away) after completing the Ether abridgement^[153]. He specifically mentions his intent to seal up the plates (the interpreters had already been sealed up) after concluding some remarks to the Lamanites (his brethren)^[154].

Nephite scripture informs us that “the Lord God, will give unto him [Joseph Smith] power, that he may whisper concerning them [the righteous dead of the Book of Mormon] , even as it were out of the ground; and their speech shall whisper out of the dust.” The process of translating the words of the Book of Mormon (in the vicinity of the Finger Lakes) was therefore likened to the voice of the dead speaking out of the ground^[155]. Mormon 8:23-26 indicates that the voice from the dust, concomitant with the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, would figuratively proceed from the ground of the book’s ancient dead, that is, from the land which the saints of the Book of Mormon possessed in life, and not from ground thousands of miles away (i.e. Central or South America).

[edit] Systems of measuring time (calendars)

All of the dates given in the Book of Mormon are stated in terms of the Nephite calendar. The system of dates used by the Lamanites is not stated. The highest numbered month mentioned is the eleventh, and the highest numbered day is the twelfth, but the total number of months in a year and the number of days in a month is not specified.^[156]

Most North American tribes relied upon a calendar of 13 months, since there are 13 distinct cycles of the moon each year. Seasonal Rounds and ceremonies were performed each moon. Months were counted in the days between phase cycles of the moon itself. Calendar Systems in use in North America during this historical period relied on this simple system.^[157]

One of the more distinctive features shared among pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations is the use of an extensive system of inter-related calendars. The epigraphic and archaeological record for this practice dates back at least 2,500 years, by which time it appears to have been well-established.^[158] The most widespread and significant of these calendars was the 260-day calendar, formed by combining 20 named days with 13 numerals in successive sequence (13 × 20 = 260).^[159] Another system of perhaps equal antiquity is the 365-day calendar, approximating the solar year, formed from 18 'months' × 20 named days + 5 additional days. These systems and others are found in societies of that era such as the Olmec, Zapotec, Mixe-Zoque, Mixtec and Maya (whose system of Maya calendars are widely regarded as the most intricate and complex among them) reflected the vigesimal (base 20) numeral system and other numbers, such as 13 and 9.

Although the number 7 is a co-factor in some Mesoamerican calendars (such as the Mayan 819-day calendar, formed from 13 × 9 × 7 days), none of the known calendar systems used a 7-day count as an exclusive or prominent base^{[citation needed]}.

Many North American Cultures considered the numbers 7 and 13 to be particularly sacred. 13 was associated with the earth itself because it represented the cycles of the moon each year, and the number 7 was the lunar cycle midpoint between the seasons of summer and winter^{[citation needed]}. North American Tribes experienced yearly fluctations in the availability of various food sources throughout the year, and the number 7 corresponded in MesoAmerican and North American Cultures with the ripening of Maize crops, since the cultivars of Zea Mays (corn) grown by these cultures matured in the 7th lunar cycle of each seasonal round (year).

[edit] Warfare

LDS scholar Hugh Nibley stated that approximately one-third of the content of the Book of Mormon deals with matters related to warfare^[160] LDS researchers also suggest that the Book of Mormon's account of large-scale warfare has been confirmed by findings in ancient Mesoamerica^[clarify].^[161] These conclusions are disputed by critics, who note that these findings are based on the Limited Geography Model, and claim that no evidence of the cataclysmic battles that ended the Jaredites and the Nephites have been found, including the hundreds of thousands of metal swords that are lacking in the area of the hill Cumorah in New York.^{[citation needed]}.

[edit] Military fortifications

There are ten instances in the Book of Mormon in which cities are described as having defensive fortifications. For example, Alma 52:2 describes how the Lamanites "sought protection in their fortifications" in the city of Mulek^[162].

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One archaeologist has noted the existence of ancient Mesoamerican defensive fortifications.^[163] According to one article in the Ensign, military fortifying berms are found in the Yucatan Peninsula,^[164][165] in the region appropriate to where LDS scholars^[who?] suggest that the wars described in the Book of Mormon could plausibly have occurred.

[edit] Efforts to correlate ruins and artifacts

[edit] Artifacts

[edit] Izapa Stela 5

Main article: Izapa Stela 5

In the early 1950s, M. Wells Jakeman of the BYU Department of Archaeology suggested that a complicated scene carved on Stela 5 in Izapa was a depiction of a Book of Mormon event called Lehi's dream, which features a vision of the tree of life.^[166] This interpretation is disputed by other Mormon and non-Mormon scholars.^[167] Julia Guernsey Kappelman, author of a definitive work on Izapan culture, finds that Jakeman's research "belies an obvious religious agenda that ignored Izapa Stela 5's heritage".^[168]

[edit] Other artifacts

LDS researcher John Sorenson claims that one artifact, La Venta Stela 3, depicts a person with Semitic features ("striking beard and beaked nose").^[169] LDS researchers^[who?] have claimed that Copan Stela B depicts elephants; others claim it depicts macaws.^[170][171]

[edit] Flora and fauna

[edit] Animals

[edit] Horses

It has been suggested that Horses in the Book of Mormon be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)

Horses are mentioned fourteen times in the Book of Mormon. Three of these references are contained within prophetic statements (such as those of Isaiah) which do not directly describe events related to Book of Mormon people. There are four instances in which horses and chariots are mentioned in the same verse.^[172]

There is no evidence that horses existed on the American continent during the 1,000 year history of the Book of Mormon. The only evidence of horses on the American continent dates to pre-historic times, but suggests that they became extinct many thousands of years prior to the events depicted in the Book of Mormon.

Evidence has been found showing that pre-historic horses were hunted by the Paleo-Indian Clovis culture who appeared in North America approximately 13,500 years ago.^[173][174] The pre-historic species of New World horses became extinct at the end of the last Ice Age (see New World Pleistocene Extinctions). The dates of regional extinctions vary between approximately 10,000^[175] and 12,500^[176] years ago. Horses were not re-introduced to Americas until they were brought to the Caribbean by Christopher Columbus in 1493,^[177], and to the American continent by Cortés in 1519.^[178]

[edit] Elephants

Elephants are mentioned twice in a single verse in the Book of Ether.^[179] The time period corresponding to this verse would be approximately 2500 B.C. Scholars agree that mastadons and mammoths once lived in the New World, but that they became extinct roughly 5000 years prior to the time period where they are mentioned. As such, critics of the Book of Mormon consider this to be an anachronism. The main point of contention is how late these animals were present before becoming extinct.^[180]

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There are instances of stories preserved orally by Native Americans which some LDS scholars^[who?] believe may describe elephants. One such story is related by the Naskapi Indian Tribe, located in Canada. The story concerns a monster from the Naskapi tradition called Katcheetohuskw, which is described as being very large, with large ears, teeth and a long nose.^[181] Similar versions of "monster" legends related by other tribes refer to a monster called Ursida, which is described as more of a large, stiff-legged bear rather than a mammoth. The story of the "monster bear" is considered by some scholars to be purely mythical.^[182]

[edit] Cattle

References to cattle are made seven times in the Book of Mormon, with several instances referring to cattle being among the possessions of the Nephites, and one instance noting cattle was used for food among the Jaredites.^[183]

There has been no evidence recovered that Old World cattle (members of the genus Bos) ever inhabited the New World until European contact in the sixteenth century AD. As such, the word cattle is considered by critics to be an anachronism.

[edit] Swine

Swine are referred to twice in the Book of Mormon. One of these instances^[184] specifically mentions swine as being "useful for the food of man." There have not been any remains, references, artwork, tools, or any other evidence suggesting that swine were ever present in the pre-entrada New World. As a result, the term "swine" is considered by critics to be an anachronism.

[edit] Plants

[edit] Grains

Grains are mentioned twenty-eight times in the Book of Mormon, including corn, barley, and wheat.^[185] The introduction of domesticated modern barley and wheat to the New World was made by Europeans sometime after 1492, many centuries after the text of the Book of Mormon was written. As such, critics of the Book of Mormon consider the word "barley" to be an anachronism.

LDS scholars believe that archaeological evidence^[clarify] discovered on the North American continent in Arizona, Illinois and Oklahoma shows that a variety of pre-Columbian barley existed and was cultivated in the New World.^[186] No evidence of pre-Columbian barley has been discovered in Mesoamerica, and as such is not congruent with the currently accepted Limited Geography Model theory.

[edit] Technology

[edit] Wheeled vehicles

The Book of Mormon mentions the use of chariots as a mode of transportation five times.^[187]

There is no archaeological evidence to support the use of wheeled vehicles in Mesoamerica. Many parts of ancient Mesoamerica were not suitable for wheeled transport. Mark Wissler, the curator of the Museum of Natural History in New York City, noted:

"...we see that the prevailing mode of land transport in the New World was by human carrier. The wheel was unknown in pre-Columbian times."^[188]

Although some apologists have pointed to the discovery of wheeled toys left in tombs^[189], several researchers, including W. H. Holmes of the Bureau of American Ethnology suspect that the toys were introduced into the tombs after the arrival of Europeans on the continent. He stated:

"Charnay obtained from an ancient cemetery at Tenenepanco, Mexico, a number of toy chariots of terra cotta, presumably buried with the body of a child, some of which retained their wheels. The possibility that these toys are of a post-discovery manufacture must be taken into account, especially since mention is made of the discovery of brass bells in the same cemetery with the toys." (emphasis in original)^[190]

One LDS researcher responds to the lack of evidence with a comparison to Biblical archaeology, suggesting that though there are no archaeological evidences that any of the numerous ancient American civilizations used wheeled transportation, few chariot fragments have been found in the Middle East dating to Biblical times^[191] (apart from the disassembled chariots found in Tutankhamun's tomb. Although few fragments of chariots have been found in the Middle East, there are many images of ancient chariots on pottery and frescos and in many sculptures of Mediterranean origin, thus confirming their existence in those societies. The complete absence of these images among the hundreds of frescoes, hundreds of thousands of pieces of decorated pottery and pre-Columbian artwork found in the New World does not support the existence of Old World style chariots in the New World.

Referencing the discovery of wheeled chariot "toys" in Mayan funerary settings, Mormon scholar William J. Hamblin has suggested that the chariots mentioned in the Book of Mormon might refer to mythic or cultic wheeled vehicles.^[192]

[edit] Recording records on metal plates

Main article: Golden plates

In addition to the golden plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated, the narrative itself mentions other writings recorded on metal plates. The difficulty of creating records on metal plates is referenced in the Book of Mormon narrative itself, in which Jacob states: "[A]nd I cannot write but a little of my words, because of the difficulty of engraving our words upon plates."^[193]

Recent discoveries have provided some evidence that this was an established method for recording information considered important.^[194] As a point of comparison, the oldest known Biblical verses preserved in archaeology are three verses from the Book of Numbers, chapter 6, verses 24-26, that were on a pair of small silver amulets found by Israeli archaeologist Gabriel Barkay at Ketef Hinnom and dated to the 6th century BC, during the same time period the Book of Mormon events are purported to have taken place.^[195] However, no records have been found on metal plates to date which approach the size of the record in the Book of Mormon and no such records have been found on the American continents.

[edit] Metals

[edit] Steel

The Book of Mormon states that metals, including iron and steel, were produced and used among the Book of Mormon peoples.^[196] Steel is mentioned in four verses ^[197] in the Book of Mormon, all before 360 B.C. (by the book's chronology). It has been pointed out that there is no evidence of steel production in North, Central, or South America.^[who?]

[edit] Iron

Between 2004 and 2007, a Purdue University archaeologist, Kevin J. Vaughn, discovered a 2000 year old iron ore mine near Nasca, Peru. The discovery demonstrated that iron was mined during the period of time covered in the Book of Mormon. However, it is likely the iron was not used for swords or other uses described in the Book of Mormon. Vaughn stated:

"Even though ancient Andean people smelted some metals, such as copper, they never smelted iron like they did in the Old World...Metals were used for a variety of tools in the Old World, such as weapons, while in the Americas, metals were used as prestige goods for the wealthy elite."^[198]

[edit] Weapons

[edit] Swords

The Book of Mormon makes numerous references to swords and their use in battle^[199] and when the remnants of the Jaredite's final battle were discovered, the Book of Mormon narrative states that "the blades thereof were cankered with rust."^[200]

Warriors in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica are known to have used wooden clubs with blade-like obsidian flakes.^[201], which being stone cannot rust.

[edit] Cimeters

Cimiters are mentioned about ten times in the Book of Mormon.^[202] The word "cimiter" is considered an anachronism, since the word was never used by the Hebrews (from which the Book of Mormon peoples came from), or any other civilization prior to 450 A.D.^[203]

[edit] Systems of exchange

Further information: Book of Mormon weights and measures

The Book of Mormon describes a system of exchange based on measures of precious metals. The overall use of metal in ancient America seems to have been extremely limited. A more common exchange medium in Mesoamerica were cacao beans.^[204]

In the critical video Jesus Christ/Joseph Smith, a statement is made that Book of Mormon coins "were noted as being common in Joseph’s writings."^[205]

[edit] Silk

The Book of Mormon mentions the use of silk six times, with two of these instances referring to things seen in a vision by Nephi. Silk is a material that is created from the cocoon of the Asian moth Bombyx mori, and was unknown to the Americas before their discovery. Critics believe that the word silk is an anachronism in the Book of Mormon.

Mormon scholar John Sorenson believes that there are several materials which were used in Mesoamerica which the Spanish called "silk" upon their arrival.^[206] He alleges that the inhabitants of Mexico used the fiber spun by a wild silkworm to create a fabric.^[207]

[edit] Legends

[edit] Ancient American culture heroes

There are many legends of ancient "culture heroes" appearing in the New World. American historian and ethnologist Hubert Howe Bancroft lists some of these in his 1875 work The Native Races of the Pacific States of North America (Vol. 5): Quetzalcoatl in Cholula, Votan in Chiapas, Wixepecocha in Oajaca, Cukulcan in Yucatan, Gukumatz in Guatemala, Yiracocha in Peru, Sume and Paye-Tome in Brazil, and Bochica in Colombia.^[208] According to Bancroft:

They are all described as white, bearded men, generally clad in long robes; appearing suddenly and mysteriously upon the scene of their labors, they at once set about improving the people by instructing them in useful and ornamental arts, giving them laws, exhorting them to practice brotherly love and other Christian virtues, and introducing a milder and better form of religion; having accomplished their mission, they disappear as mysteriously and unexpectedly as they came; and finally, they are apotheosized and held in great reverence by a grateful posterity.^[209]

[edit] Quetzalcoatl

The ancient Mesoamerican legend of Quetzalcoatl, depicted in some versions as "the bearded white god", is interpreted by some Latter-day Saints as a depiction of the actual visit of Jesus to the Americas as related and foretold 600 years before his coming in the Book of Mormon.^{[citation needed]} Other students of ancient Mesoamerica do not accept this claim for several reasons: Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent deity, is depicted in Mesoamerican art dated several centuries before Jesus. The King Quetzalcoatl who promised to return to Mexico dated almost 1,000 years after the life of Jesus.^[210] LDS scholars^[who?] point out that part of the reason Hernan Cortes so easily conquered the Aztecs was that he fit the pre-existent Aztec conception of Quetzalcoatl, and thus the Aztecs hesitated to resist.

[edit] See also

• Dighton Rock
• Izapa Stela 5
• Khirbet Beit Lei
• Linguistics and the Book of Mormon
• Los Lunas Decalogue Stone
• Newport Tower
• Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact
• Reformed Egyptian
• Archaeology of Israel
• Biblical archaeology
• Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought --on-line archive includes articles on Archaeology and BoM
• Criticism of Mormonism
• Hebrew Chiasmus In The Book of Mormon

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[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Aston, Warren P. and Michaela Knoth (1994), written at Salt Lake City, Utah, In the Footsteps of Lehi: New Evidence for Lehi's Journey across Arabia to Bountiful, Deseret Book.
• Berrett, LaMar C (1999), written at Provo, Utah, "New Light: The So-Called Lehi Cave", Journal of Book of Mormon Studies (Maxwell Institute) 8 (1): pp. 64-5, <http://farms.byu.edu/display.php?table=jbms&id=186>.
• Coe, Michael (2002), written at New York, The Maya (6 ed.), Thames & Hudson, ISBN 0-500-28066-5.
• Faust, James E. (November 1983), "The Keystone of Our Religion", Ensign (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), <http://lds.org/portal/site/LDSOrg/menuitem.b12f9d18fae655bb69095bd3e44916a0/?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=1a269c84f5d6b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1>. Retrieved on 2007-07-06.
• Givens, Terryl L (2002), written at New York, By the Hand of Mormon: The American Scripture That Launched a New World Religion, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-513818-X.
• Guernsey, Julia (2006) Ritual and Power in Stone: The Performance of Rulership in Mesoamerican Izapan Style Art, University of Texas Press, Austin, Texas, ISBN 978-0292713239.
• Guernsey Kappelman, Julia; Izapa (Precolumbian Art and Art History)", accessed December 2007.
• Hill, Marvin S (1995), written at Salt Lake City, The Essential Joseph Smith, Signature Books, ISBN 0-941214-71-0.
• Hilton, Lynn M & Hope A Hilton (1996), written at Springville, Utah, Discovering Lehi: New Evidence of Lehi and Nephi in Arabia, Cedar Fort, Inc., ISBN 1-55517-257-1.
• Jessee, Dean C (1984), written at Salt Lake City, The Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, Deseret Book.
• Olive, Phyllis C. (2000), written at Springville, Utah, The Lost Lands of the Book of Mormon, Bonneville Books.

• Smith, James E (1997), written at Provo, Utah, Noel B. Reynolds, ed., "How Many Nephites? The Book of Mormon at the Bar of Demography", Book of Mormon Authorship Revisited (Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies), ISBN 0-934893--25-X, <http://www.farmsresearch.com/publications/bookschapter.php?bookid=41&chapid=190>.
• Smith, G. Elliot (February 1925), "Elephants and Ethnologists", The Geographical Journal 65 (2): 173-174.
• Sorenson, John L (September 1984), "Digging into the Book of Mormon: Our Changing Understanding of Ancient America and Its Scripture (Part 1)", Ensign (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), <http://lds.org/portal/site/LDSOrg/menuitem.b12f9d18fae655bb69095bd3e44916a0/?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=c4f105481ae6b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1>. Retrieved on 2007-07-06.
• Sorenson, John L (October 1984), "Digging into the Book of Mormon: Our Changing Understanding of Ancient America and Its Scripture (Part 2)", Ensign (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), <http://lds.org/portal/site/LDSOrg/menuitem.b12f9d18fae655bb69095bd3e44916a0/?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=c3c205481ae6b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1>. Retrieved on 2007-07-06.
• Sorenson, John L (1985), written at Salt Lake City, Utah, An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon, Deseret Book and FARMS, ISBN 0-87747-608-X.
• Sorenson, John L (1992), "When Lehi's Party Arrived in the Land, Did They Find Others There?", Journal of Book of Mormon Studies (Maxwell Institute) 1 (1), <http://farms.byu.edu/display.php?table=jbms&id=3>. Retrieved on 2007-01-19.
• Southerton, Simon G (2004), written at Salt Lake City, Losing a Lost Tribe: Native Americans, DNA and the Mormon Church, Signature Books, ISBN 1-56085-181-3.
• Tanner, Jerald & Sandra Tanner (1969), written at Salt Lake City, Utah, Archaeology and the Book of Mormon, Utah Lighthouse Ministry.
• Tozzer, Alfred M & Glover M Allen (August 14, 2006), Animal Figures in the Maya Codices, Project Gutenberg (e-book), <http://www.gutenberg.org/files/19042/19042-h/19042-h.htm>.

[edit] External links

• (Pro) http://www.nephiproject.com/nephi_project_major_discoveries.htm
• (Pro) http://www.weaverresearch.org/tomsfinalpaper.htm
• (Pro) http://farms.byu.edu/publications/bookofmormonview.php?subcat=100&cat=1
• (Pro) http://www.jefflindsay.com/LDSFAQ/DNA.shtml
• (Pro) http://www.lds.org/newsroom/mistakes/0,15331,3885-1-18078,00.html
• (Pro) http://jefflindsay.com/BMEvidences.shtml
• (Pro) http://www2.ida.net/graphics/shirtail/keystone.htm
• (Pro) http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/pdf.php?filename=MTQwNTUyMzg2LTEyLTIucGRm&type=amJtcw==
• (Neutral) Larson, Stan, The Odyssey of Thomas Stuart Ferguson. Dialogue 23 (1) Spring 1990: 55-93.
• (Neutral) King, David S, "Proving" the Book of Mormon: Archaeology Vs. Faith., Dialogue 24 (1) Spring 1991: 143-146.
• (Con) Coe, Michael, "Mormons and Archeology - An Outside View", Dialogue, Summer, 1973.
• (Con) http://www.religioustolerance.org/lds_migr1.htm
• (Con)http://www.irr.org/mit/bompage.html
• (Con) http://www.ericbarger.com/mormon.dna.htm
• (Con) The Skeptics Annotated BOM
• (Con) http://utlm.org/topicalindexa.htm#Archeology