Archaeology and the Book of Mormon
Encyclopedia
Since the publication of the Book of Mormon
in 1830, both Mormon
and non-Mormon archaeologists
have studied its claims in reference to known archaeological evidence. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement
generally believe that the Book of Mormon describes ancient historical events in the Americas
, but mainstream historian
s and archaeologists do not regard the Book of Mormon as a work of ancient American history.
The Book of Mormon describes God's dealings with three heavily populated, literate, and advanced civilization
s in the Americas over the course of several hundred years. The book primarily deals with the Nephite
s and the Lamanite
s, who it claims existed in the Americas from about 600 BC to about AD 400. It also deals with the rise and fall of the Jaredite nation, which the Book of Mormon claims came from the Old World
shortly after the confounding of the languages
at the Tower of Babel
.
Critics and supporters disagree as to whether archaeological findings support or disprove the historicity of the Book of Mormon. Some Mormon archaeologists and researchers claim various archaeological findings such as place names, and ruins of the Inca
, Maya
, Olmec
, and other ancient American and Old World civilizations as giving credence to the Book of Mormon record. Critics and non-Mormon archaeologists disagree with these conclusions, arguing that the Book of Mormon mentions several animals, plants, and technologies that are not substantiated by the archaeological record between 3100 BC to 400 AD in America, including the ass
, cattle, horse
s, oxen
, domesticated sheep, swine, goat
s, elephant
s, wheat
, barley
, silk
, steel
, swords
, scimitar
s, chariots and other elements. Additionally, scientists note that genetic studies
show that Amerind peoples are most likely of Asiatic origin, which appears to conflict with the Book of Mormon account of their ancestry. Mormon archaeologists deal with the genetics problem in a variety of ways.
civilizations, technologies, movements, and history have been established. These include the Formative
Mesoamerica
n civilizations such as the (Pre-Classic) Olmec
, Maya
, and Zapotec
, which flourished during the approximate period the events related in the Book of Mormon are said to have occurred.
Some contemporary LDS scholars suggest that the Jaredites may have been the Olmec
, and that part of the Maya may have been the Nephites and Lamanites.
19th century archaeological finds (e.g. earth and timber fortifications and towns, the use of a plaster-like cement, ancient roads, metal points and implements, copper breastplates, head-plates, textiles, pearls, native North American inscriptions, North American elephant remains etc.) is not interpreted by mainstream academia as proving the historicity or divinity of the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon is viewed by many mainstream scholars as a work of fiction that parallels others within the 19th century “Mound-builder” genre that were pervasive at the time.
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. In 1998, the Smithsonian revised the form letter they sent in response to this issue to take a less controversial stance, 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." Some Mormon scholars speculate that the statement may have been revised because some of the reasons listed are considered controversial or dubious for reasons unrelated to the Book of Mormon by some mainstream historians.
, 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."
The list below summarizes the most prominent and problematic anachronisms in the Book of Mormon, as well as perspectives and rebuttals by Mormon apologists.
Horses are mentioned eleven times in the Book of Mormon in the context of its New World setting. There is no evidence that horses existed on the American continent during the 2500-3000 year history of the Book of Mormon (2500 BC - 400 AD) The only evidence of horses on the American continent dates to pre-historic times, (between 12,500 and 10,000 BC.). It is widely accepted that horses were extinct in the Western Hemisphere over 10,000 years ago and did not reappear there until the Spaniards brought them from Europe. Horses were re-introduced to the Americas (Caribbean
) by Christopher Columbus
in 1493 and to the American continent by Cortés
in 1519.
Mormon apologists argue the following to deal with this supposed anachronism:
Elephants are mentioned twice in a single verse in the earliest Book of Mormon record, the Book of Ether
. Mastodons and mammoths lived long ago in the New World, however, as with the prehistoric horse, the archaeological record indicates that they became extinct along with most of the megafauna
in the New World around 10,000 BC. The source of this extinction is speculated to be the result of human predation, a significant climate change, or a combination of both factors. A very small population of mammoths survived on St. Paul Island, Alaska, up until 3700 BC, but is still several thousand years before the time period where "elephants" are mentioned in the Book of Mormon.
Apologists deal with the “elephant” in much the same way as they treat the “horse” anachronism; countering with the following arguments:
There are six references to cattle made in the Book of Mormon, including verbiage suggesting they were domesticated. While the Book of Mormon may follow the common Biblical precedent of referring to all domesticated animals as cattle, there is no evidence that Old World cattle (members of the genus Bos
) inhabited the New World prior to European contact in the 16th century AD. Further, there is currently no archeological evidence of American bison having been domesticated. It is widely accepted that the only large mammal to be domesticated in the Americas was the llama
and that no species of goats, deer, or sheep were domesticated before the arrival of the Europeans to the continent.
Mormon apologists argue the following to deal with this anachronism:
in 1493.
Mormon apologists argue the following to deal with this anachronism:
Goats are mentioned three times in the Book of Mormon placing them among the Nephites and the Jaredites (i.e. between 2500 BC and 400 AD). In two of the verses, "goats" are distinguished from "wild goats" indicating that there were at least two varieties, one of them possibly domesticated or tamed.
Domestic goats are known to have been introduced on the American continent by Europeans in the 15th century, 1000 years after the conclusion of the Book of Mormon, and nearly 2000 years after goats are last mentioned in the Book of Mormon. The aggressive mountain goat
is indigenous to North America. There is no evidence that it was ever domesticated.
Mormon apologists argue the following to deal with this anachronism:
Mormon apologists argue the following to deal with this anachronism:
"Barley
" is mentioned three times in the Book of Mormon narrative dating to the 1st and 2nd century BC. "Wheat
" is mentioned once in the Book of Mormon narrative dating to the same time period. The introduction of domesticated modern barley and wheat to the New World was made by Europeans after 1492, many centuries after the time in which the Book of Mormon is set.
Mormon apologists argue the following to deal with this anachronism:
Additionally, apologists such as Robert R. Bennett also note that the Norse, after reaching North America, claimed to have found what they called “self-sown wheat”.
Critics reject the notion that Hordeum pusillum was the "barley" referred to in the Book of Mormon. They also note that the earliest mention of barley in the Book of Mormon dates to 121 BC. which is several hundred years prior to the date given for the recent discovery of domesticated Hordeum pusillum in North America.
six times. “Silk” is commonly understood to mean the material that is created from the cocoon of the Asian moth Bombyx mori
. It is a foregone conclusion that this material was unknown to the Americas before their discovery.
Apologists argue the following to deal with this anachronism:
The Book of Mormon contains two accounts of chariots being used in the New World.
Critics argue that there is no archaeological evidence to support the use of wheeled vehicles in Mesoamerica, especially since many parts of ancient Mesoamerica were not suitable for wheeled transport. Clark Wissler
, the Curator of Ethnography
at the American Museum of Natural History
in New York City, noted:
A comparison of the South American Inca civilization to Mesoamerican civilizations shows the same lack of wheeled vehicles. Although the Incas used a vast network of paved roads (see Inca road system
), these roads are so rough, steep, and narrow that they appear to be unsuitable for wheeled use. Bridges that the Inca people built, and even continue to use and maintain today in some remote areas, are straw-rope bridges so narrow (about 2–3 feet wide) that no wheeled vehicle can fit (see image and technology at Inca rope bridges). Inca roads were used mainly by chaski
message runners and llama
caravans.
Some Mormon apologists argue the following to deal with this anachronism:
Steel
and iron
are mentioned several times in the Book of Mormon. No evidence has been found in North, Central, or South America of iron being hardened anciently to make “steel”.
Though researchers have shown that primitive metallurgy existed in South America, metal production was only used for adornment purposes. The very earliest metal working there dates to 200 AD with the Moche
culture. This dates thousands of years after the Jaredite
civilization is alleged to have existed and 800 years after the alleged beginning of the Nephite
civilization in the Book of Mormon. Metallurgy spread to Central America by 800 AD (long after the Book of Mormon record closes).
Between 2004 and 2007, a Purdue University
archaeologist, Kevin J. Vaughn, discovered a 2000 year old hematite
mine near Nazca
, Peru. Although hematite is today mined as an iron ore, Vaughn believes that the hematite was then being mined for use as red pigment. There are also numerous excavations that included iron minerals. He noted:
Apologists counter that the word "steel", as used in the Book of Mormon, likely refers to a hardened metal other than iron. This argument follows from the fact that the Book of Mormon refers to certain Old World articles made of “steel”. Similar “steel” articles mentioned in the King James Version of the Bible are actually hardened copper. It has been amply demonstrated that much of the terminology of the English Book of Mormon, parallels the Authorized King James Bible. Copper and its alloys have the ability to corrode, thus satisfying the description of “blades” which had “cankered with rust”. Ancient mound building cultures of North American are known to have worked copper, silver, gold and meteoric iron.
and their use in battle. When the remnants of the Jaredites' final battle were discovered, the Book of Mormon narrative states that "the blades thereof were cankered with rust."
Apologists counter that most references to swords do not speak of the material they were made of, and that they may refer to a number of weapons such as the Macuahuitl
, a "sword" made of obsidian
blades that was used by the Aztecs. It was very sharp and could decapitate a man or horse. However obsidian (volcanic glass), cannot rust.
s ('Cimiters') are mentioned about ten times in the Book of Mormon as existing hundreds of years before the term was first coined. The word "cimiter" (Scimitar) is considered an anachronism since the word was never used by the Hebrews (from which the Book of Mormon peoples came) or any other civilization prior to 450 AD.
The word cimiter (scimitar) has at different times referred to a long curved sword used by the Persians and Turks, a smaller curved knife similar to the kopis
of the Turks, or makhaira
of the Greeks.
Apologists argue the following to deal with this anachronism:
used by the Nephite society. However, the archaeological record shows that the overall use of metal in ancient America appears to have been extremely limited. But Book of Mormon makes no mention of what materials were used for weights and measures. A more common exchange medium in Mesoamerica were cacao beans.
) and that they specifically avoided crafting windows for lighting in their covered seagoing vessels because the windows would be "dashed in pieces" during the ocean voyage. However, the earliest known production of glass dates to 3500 BC in Egypt and Mesopotamia, in the form of opaque beads. The earliest known production of transparent glass panes is much more recent, dating to the 11th century AD in Germany which is many hundreds of years after the conclusion of the Book of Mormon record.
The Book of Mormon describes more than one literate people inhabiting ancient America. The Nephite people are described as possessing a language and writing with roots in Hebrew and Egyptian
, and writing the original text of the Book of Mormon in this unknown language, called Reformed Egyptian
. A transcript of some of the characters of this language has been preserved in the Anthon Transcript
.
Archaeological evidence shows that the only people known to have developed written languages in America were the Olmecs and Mayan
s, whose written
languages have no resemblance to Hebrew or Egyptian hieroglyphs. Additionally, professional linguists and Egyptologists do not consider the Anthon Transcript document to contain any legitimate ancient writing. Klaus Baer, Egyptologist at the University of Chicago, called the characters of the transcript nothing but "doodlings".
The Smithsonian Institution has noted, "Reports of findings of ancient Egyptian Hebrew, and other Old World writings in the New World in pre-Columbian contexts have frequently appeared in newspapers, magazines, and sensational books. None of these claims has stood up to examination by reputable scholars. No inscriptions using Old World forms of writing have been shown to have occurred in any part of the Americas before 1492 except for a few Norse rune stones which have been found in Greenland."
Additionally, linguistic studies on the evolution of the spoken languages of the Americas agree with the widely held model that homo sapiens arrived in America between 15,000 and 10,000 BC. According to the Book of Mormon, immigrants first arrived on the American continent about 2500 BC (the presumed time period of the biblical Tower of Babel
).
Mormon apologists argue the following to deal with this anachronism:
or Mosaic Law. 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 explicitly stated Even so, it is evident that Book of Mormon peoples observed lunar cycles, “months”, and that the Nephites observed the Israelite Sabbath culminating a seven day week.
Most North American tribes relied upon a calendar of 13 months, relating to the yearly number of lunar cycles. Seasonal Rounds and ceremonies were performed each moon. Months were counted in the days between phase cycles of the moon. Calendar Systems in use in North America during this historical period relied on this simple system.
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. 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). 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 calendar
s 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.
’ bestseller Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas, and Yucatan. Stephens’ two volume work was promoted by 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, an unsigned 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. It is now known that these Central American ruins date more recent than Book of Mormon times. Other unsigned 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.
Additionally, Latter-day Saints have based some of their conclusions regarding archaeology and the Book of Mormon on unproven archaeological data which looked promising at the time but has since been found to be either erroneous and or fraudulent. In recent years, this has caused LDS scholars to take a very critical approach to the work of other LDS researchers on this subject. Mormon scholar John L. Sorenson
states that "LDS scholars themselves have attacked the same shoddy scholarship that makes Book of Mormon archaeology a playground for hobbyists."
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). 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. Citing the lack of specific New World geographic locations to search, Michael D. Coe
, a prominent Mesoamerican archaeologist and Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at Yale University, wrote,
In 1955 Thomas Ferguson, an LDS member and founder of the NWAF, with five years of funding from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, began to dig throughout Mesoamerica for evidence of the veracity of the Book of Mormon claims. In a 1961 newsletter Ferguson predicted that although nothing had been found, the Book of Mormon cities would be found within 10 years. In 1972, Christian scholar Hal Hougey wrote Ferguson questioning the progress given the stated timetable in which the cities would be found. Replying to Hougey as well as secular and non-secular requests, Ferguson wrote in a letter dated 5 June 1972:
During the period of 1959-1961, NWAF colleague Dee Green was editor of the BYU Archaeological Society Newsletter and had an article from it published in the summer of 1969 edition of Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought
, pp 76–78 in which he acknowledged that the NWAF findings did not back up the veracity of the Book of Mormon claims. After this article and another six years of fruitless search, Thomas Ferguson published a 29-page paper in 1975 where he concluded,
In 1976, referring to his own paper, Ferguson wrote a letter in which he stated:
Ferguson’s archaeological efforts failed to garner complete support from all prominent LDS scholars. Author and LDS Professor of Biblical and Mormon scripture Hugh Nibley published the following critical remarks:
Though the NWAF failed to establish Book of Mormon archaeology, the archaeological investigations of NWAF-sponsored projects were a success for ancient American archaeology in general which has been recognized and appreciated by non-Mormon archaeologists. Currently BYU
maintains 86 documents on the work of the NWAF at the BYU NWAF website and these documents are used outside both BYU and the LDS church by researchers.
, they have accumulated a large amount of research which they use to support their conclusions. These correlations are disputed by non-Mormon archaeologists who see no such parallels. Non-Mormon scholars, historians, and archaeologists have concluded that the body of evidence found disproves the conclusions of Mormon apologists and the historical authenticity of the Book of Mormon itself.
An example of the mainstream archaeological opinion of Mormon archaeology is summarized by historian and journalist Hampton Sides
:
These finds are divided into competing models, most notably the Hemispheric Geography Model, the Mesoamerican Limited Geography Model, and the Finger Lakes Limited Geography Model.
were all of Israeli descent. Many Mormons use the terms "Lamanite
" and "Indian" interchangeably.
The LDS church's view of the issue has shifted slightly over time, with Joseph Smith and early Mormon leaders taking the traditional stance. This model was also implicitly endorsed in the introduction to the Book of Mormon, which noted that Lamanites are the "principal ancestors of the American Indians." More recently the church has not taken a strong position on the absolute origin of Native American peoples.
Some Mormon apologists believe the following archaeological finds support this theory:
, posits that the events of the Book of Mormon occurred in a geographically "limited" region in Mesoamerica only hundreds of miles in dimension and that other people were present in the New World at the time of Lehi's arrival. This model has been proposed and advocated by various Mormon apologists in the 20th century (both RLDS
and LDS). Geographically limited settings for the Book of Mormon have been suggested by LDS church leaders as well, and this view has been published in the official church magazine, The Ensign.
Mormon apologists believe the following archaeological evidence supports the Mesoamerican Geography Model:
region of New York. Part of the basis of this theory lies on statements made by Joseph Smith and other church leaders.
Mormon apologists believe the archaeological evidence below supports claims that authentic Book of Mormon sites exist in the Finger Lakes region of New York:
From Book of Mormon population estimates, it is evident that the civilizations described are comparable in size to the civilizations of Ancient Egypt
, Ancient Greece
, Ancient Rome
, and the Maya
. Such civilizations left numerous artifacts in the form of hewn stone ruins, tombs, temples, pyramids, roads, arches, walls, frescos, statues, vases, coins, etc. The archaeological problem posed by the earth, timber and metal working societies described in the Book of Mormon was summarized by Hugh Nibley (prominent LDS professor of ancient history):
Losses of ancient writings occurred in the Old World - in deliberate or accidental fires, in wars, earthquakes, floods, etc. Similar losses occurred in the New World. Much of the literature of the Pre-Columbian Maya
was destroyed during the Spanish
conquest in the 16th century. On this point, Michael Coe noted:
The Maya civilization also left behind a vast corpus of inscriptions (upwards of ten thousand are known) 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). 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 BC being recorded on Chiapa de Corzo Stela 2 in central Chiapas. None of these inscriptions make contact with events, places, rulers, or timeline of Book of Mormon.
One LDS researcher uses as supporting evidence, ancient Mesoamerican accounts that appear somewhat to parallel events recorded in the Book of Mormon.
civilization, though archaeological evidence supporting this theory is disputed and circumstantial.
Unlike the Jaredites of the Book of Mormon, whose society predominantly situated in lands north of a “narrow neck” of land,” Olmec civilization spread to both the east and west sides of a broad, lateral Central American isthmus (the Isthmus of Tehuantepec
).
The Jaredite civilization in the American covenant land is said to have been completely destroyed as the result of a civil war near the time that Lehi's party is said to have arrived in the New World (approximately 590 B.C.). Olmec civilization, on the other hand, 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 (according to Coe). Although the Olmec civilization ended, there are indications that some of the Olmec people survived and interacted with other cultures.
While making allowance for the likelihood that Book of Mormon peoples migrated to Mexico and Central America, Joseph Smith nevertheless placed the arrival of the Jaredites in “the lake country of America” (region of Lake Ontario).
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.
One archaeologist has noted the existence of ancient Mesoamerican defensive fortifications. According to one article in the Ensign, military fortifying berm
s are found in the Yucatan Peninsula, in the region appropriate to where some LDS scholars suggest that the wars described in the Book of Mormon could plausibly have occurred. Other researchers find it ironic that such great lengths would be taken to find “Moroniesque”, aboriginal defensive works (fitting Book of Mormon description) so far away from scriptural Cumorah, when such works are known to have existed in the State of New York and eastern United States.
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. This interpretation is disputed by other Mormon and non-Mormon scholars. 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".
LDS researcher John Sorenson claims that one artifact, La Venta Stela 3, depicts a person with Semitic features ("striking beard and beaked nose"). LDS researchers have claimed that Copan Stela B depicts elephants; others claim it depicts macaws.
Recent discoveries in the Old World
have provided some evidence that this was an established method for recording information considered important.
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.
Copper plates were used in ancient India to record history; the largest grouping of metallic tablets to document a historical event consists of 3000 plates.
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...
in 1830, both Mormon
Mormons
The Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, a religion started by Joseph Smith during the American Second Great Awakening. A vast majority of Mormons are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints while a minority are members of other independent churches....
and non-Mormon archaeologists
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
have studied its claims in reference to known archaeological evidence. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement
Latter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement is a group of independent churches tracing their origin to a Christian primitivist movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 14 million members...
generally believe that the Book of Mormon describes ancient historical events in the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
, but mainstream historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
s and archaeologists do not regard the Book of Mormon as a work of ancient American history.
The Book of Mormon describes God's dealings with three heavily populated, literate, and advanced civilization
Civilization
Civilization is a sometimes controversial term that has been used in several related ways. Primarily, the term has been used to refer to the material and instrumental side of human cultures that are complex in terms of technology, science, and division of labor. Such civilizations are generally...
s in the Americas over the course of several hundred years. The book primarily deals with the Nephite
Nephite
According to the Book of Mormon, a Nephite is a member of one of the four main groups of settlers of the ancient Americas. The other three groups are the Lamanites, Jaredites and Mulekites. In the Book of Mormon, the Nephites were a group of people descended from or associated with Nephi, the...
s and the Lamanite
Lamanite
According to the Book of Mormon, a Lamanite is a member of a dark-skinned nation of indigenous Americans that battled with the light-skinned Nephite nation...
s, who it claims existed in the Americas from about 600 BC to about AD 400. It also deals with the rise and fall of the Jaredite nation, which the Book of Mormon claims came from the Old World
Old World
The Old World consists of those parts of the world known to classical antiquity and the European Middle Ages. It is used in the context of, and contrast with, the "New World" ....
shortly after the confounding of the languages
Confusion of tongues
The confusion of tongues is the initial fragmentation of human languages described in the Book of Genesis 11:1–9, as a result of the construction of the Tower of Babel....
at the Tower of Babel
Tower of Babel
The Tower of Babel , according to the Book of Genesis, was an enormous tower built in the plain of Shinar .According to the biblical account, a united humanity of the generations following the Great Flood, speaking a single language and migrating from the east, came to the land of Shinar, where...
.
Critics and supporters disagree as to whether archaeological findings support or disprove the historicity of the Book of Mormon. Some Mormon archaeologists and researchers claim various archaeological findings such as place names, and ruins of the Inca
Inca Empire
The Inca Empire, or Inka Empire , was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political and military center of the empire was located in Cusco in modern-day Peru. The Inca civilization arose from the highlands of Peru sometime in the early 13th century...
, Maya
Maya civilization
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
, Olmec
Olmec
The Olmec were the first major Pre-Columbian civilization in Mexico. They lived in the tropical lowlands of south-central Mexico, in the modern-day states of Veracruz and Tabasco....
, and other ancient American and Old World civilizations as giving credence to the Book of Mormon record. Critics and non-Mormon archaeologists disagree with these conclusions, arguing that the Book of Mormon mentions several animals, plants, and technologies that are not substantiated by the archaeological record between 3100 BC to 400 AD in America, including the ass
Donkey
The donkey or ass, Equus africanus asinus, is a domesticated member of the Equidae or horse family. The wild ancestor of the donkey is the African Wild Ass, E...
, cattle, horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
s, oxen
Ox
An ox , also known as a bullock in Australia, New Zealand and India, is a bovine trained as a draft animal. Oxen are commonly castrated adult male cattle; castration makes the animals more tractable...
, domesticated sheep, swine, goat
Goat
The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
s, elephant
Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
s, wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
, barley
Barley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
, silk
Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
, steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
, swords
Swords
A sword is a cutting/thrusting weapon made of metal. Sword or swords may also refer to:* Swords, County Dublin, Ireland* Suit of swords, a suit in Latin-suited playing cards and Tarot decks* SWORDS, a ground-based military robot...
, scimitar
Scimitar
A scimitar is a backsword or sabre with a curved blade, originating in Southwest Asia .The Arabic term saif translates to "sword" in general, but is normally taken to refer to the scimitar type of curved backsword in particular.The curved sword or "scimitar" was widespread throughout the Muslim...
s, chariots and other elements. Additionally, scientists note that genetic studies
Genetics and the Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon, one of the four books of scripture of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , is an account of three groups of people. Two of these groups supposedly originated from Israel...
show that Amerind peoples are most likely of Asiatic origin, which appears to conflict with the Book of Mormon account of their ancestry. Mormon archaeologists deal with the genetics problem in a variety of ways.
Archaeology research in pre-Columbian Americas and the Book of Mormon
A great deal of data have been accumulated over more than two hundred years of American archaeological research. While archaeology in the Americas is not as mature as Old World archaeology, substantial insights into pre-ColumbianPre-Columbian
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
civilizations, technologies, movements, and history have been established. These include the Formative
Mesoamerican chronology
Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica into several periods: the Paleo-Indian , the Archaic , the Preclassic , the Classic , and the Postclassic...
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a region and culture area in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, within which a number of pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and...
n civilizations such as the (Pre-Classic) Olmec
Olmec
The Olmec were the first major Pre-Columbian civilization in Mexico. They lived in the tropical lowlands of south-central Mexico, in the modern-day states of Veracruz and Tabasco....
, Maya
Maya civilization
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
, and Zapotec
Zapotec civilization
The Zapotec civilization was an indigenous pre-Columbian civilization that flourished in the Valley of Oaxaca of southern Mesoamerica. Archaeological evidence shows their culture goes back at least 2500 years...
, which flourished during the approximate period the events related in the Book of Mormon are said to have occurred.
Some contemporary LDS scholars suggest that the Jaredites may have been the Olmec
Olmec
The Olmec were the first major Pre-Columbian civilization in Mexico. They lived in the tropical lowlands of south-central Mexico, in the modern-day states of Veracruz and Tabasco....
, and that part of the Maya may have been the Nephites and Lamanites.
19th century archaeological finds (e.g. earth and timber fortifications and towns, the use of a plaster-like cement, ancient roads, metal points and implements, copper breastplates, head-plates, textiles, pearls, native North American inscriptions, North American elephant remains etc.) is not interpreted by mainstream academia as proving the historicity or divinity of the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon is viewed by many mainstream scholars as a work of fiction that parallels others within the 19th century “Mound-builder” genre that were pervasive at the time.
Smithsonian Institution
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 letterForm letter
A form letter is a letter written from a template, rather than being specially composed for a specific recipient. The most general kind of form letter consists of one or more regions of boilerplate text interspersed with one or more substitution placeholders.Although form letters are generally...
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. In 1998, the Smithsonian revised the form letter they sent in response to this issue to take a less controversial stance, 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
Terryl Givens
Terryl Lynn Givens is professor of literature and religion at the University of Richmond where he holds the James A. Bostwick Chair in English...
suggests that the change in the statement was "in all likelihood a product of controversy-avoidance." Some Mormon scholars speculate that the statement may have been revised because some of the reasons listed are considered controversial or dubious for reasons unrelated to the Book of Mormon by some mainstream historians.
National Geographic Society
The National Geographic SocietyNational Geographic Society
The National Geographic Society , headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational institutions in the world. Its interests include geography, archaeology and natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical...
, in a 1998 letter to the Institute for Religious Research
Institute for Religious Research
The Institute for Religious Research is a United States Christian apologetics organization based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It declares itself to be a non-denominational, non-profit Christian foundation for the study of religious claims, and was formerly known as Gospel Truths Ministries...
, 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."
Anachronisms and archaeological findings
There are a variety of words and phrases in the Book of Mormon that are considered anachronistic as their existence in the text of the Book of Mormon is at odds with archaeological findings. The text of the Book of Mormon spans a period beginning circa 2500 BC to 400 AD. Each of the anachronisms describes an artifact, animal, plant, or technology that critics and archaeologists believe did not exist in the Americas during this time period.The list below summarizes the most prominent and problematic anachronisms in the Book of Mormon, as well as perspectives and rebuttals by Mormon apologists.
Horses
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
) by Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
in 1493 and to the American continent by Cortés
Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca was a Spanish Conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile in the early 16th century...
in 1519.
Mormon apologists argue the following to deal with this supposed anachronism:
- Mormon apologist John L. Sorenson at FARMS claims that there is fossil evidence that some New World horses may have survived the PleistocenePleistoceneThe Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
–HoloceneHoloceneThe Holocene is a geological epoch which began at the end of the Pleistocene and continues to the present. The Holocene is part of the Quaternary period. Its name comes from the Greek words and , meaning "entirely recent"...
transition, though these findings are disputed by mainstream archaeologists. - Mormon apologist Robert R. Bennett suggests that the word "horse" in the Book of Mormon may have referred to a different animal, such as a tapirTapirA Tapir is a large browsing mammal, similar in shape to a pig, with a short, prehensile snout. Tapirs inhabit jungle and forest regions of South America, Central America, and Southeast Asia. There are four species of Tapirs: the Brazilian Tapir, the Malayan Tapir, Baird's Tapir and the Mountain...
.
Elephants
Book of Ether
The Book of Ether is one of the books that make up the Book of Mormon. The Book of Ether tells of an ancient people , descendants of Jared and his companions who were led by God to the Americas shortly after the confusion of tongues and the destruction of the Tower of Babel...
. Mastodons and mammoths lived long ago in the New World, however, as with the prehistoric horse, the archaeological record indicates that they became extinct along with most of the megafauna
Megafauna
In terrestrial zoology, megafauna are "giant", "very large" or "large" animals. The most common thresholds used are or...
in the New World around 10,000 BC. The source of this extinction is speculated to be the result of human predation, a significant climate change, or a combination of both factors. A very small population of mammoths survived on St. Paul Island, Alaska, up until 3700 BC, but is still several thousand years before the time period where "elephants" are mentioned in the Book of Mormon.
Apologists deal with the “elephant” in much the same way as they treat the “horse” anachronism; countering with the following arguments:
- Various amateur archaeologists and LDS authors have cited controversial evidence that North American mound builder cultures were familiar with the elephant. This evidence has long been a topic of debate with most archaeologists concluding that the elephantine remains were improperly dated, misidentified, or openly fraudulent.
Cattle and cows
Bos
Bos is the genus of wild and domestic cattle. Bos can be divided into four subgenera: Bos, Bibos, Novibos, and Poephagus, but these divisions are controversial. The genus has five extant species...
) inhabited the New World prior to European contact in the 16th century AD. Further, there is currently no archeological evidence of American bison having been domesticated. It is widely accepted that the only large mammal to be domesticated in the Americas was the llama
Llama
The llama is a South American camelid, widely used as a meat and pack animal by Andean cultures since pre-Hispanic times....
and that no species of goats, deer, or sheep were domesticated before the arrival of the Europeans to the continent.
Mormon apologists argue the following to deal with this anachronism:
- Some Mormon apologists believe that the term "cattle," as used in the Book of Mormon is more general and does not exclusively mean members of the genus BosBosBos is the genus of wild and domestic cattle. Bos can be divided into four subgenera: Bos, Bibos, Novibos, and Poephagus, but these divisions are controversial. The genus has five extant species...
. Thus, they claim the term "cattle" may refer to mountain goatMountain goatThe Mountain Goat , also known as the Rocky Mountain Goat, is a large-hoofed mammal found only in North America. Despite its vernacular name, it is not a member of Capra, the genus of true goats...
s; llamas; or the ancestor of the American bisonAmerican BisonThe American bison , also commonly known as the American buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds...
, Bison antiquusBison antiquusBison antiquus, sometimes called the ancient bison, was the most common large herbivore of the North American continent for over ten thousand years, and is a direct ancestor of the living American bison....
(of the sub family BovinaeBovinaeThe biological subfamily Bovinae includes a diverse group of 10 genera of medium to large sized ungulates, including domestic cattle, the bison, African buffalo, the water buffalo, the yak, and the four-horned and spiral-horned antelopes...
).
Sheep
"Sheep" are mentioned in the Book of Mormon as being raised in the Americas by the Jaredites between 2500 BC and 600 BC. Another verse mentions “lamb-skin” worn by armies of robbers(~ AD 21) However, Domestic sheep are known to have been first introduced to the Americas during the second voyage of ColumbusChristopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
in 1493.
Mormon apologists argue the following to deal with this anachronism:
- One apologist claims that sheep wool has been found in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica This is disputed by mainstream archaeologists.
- Some suggest that the word "sheep" may refer to another species of animal that resembled sheep such as Big horn sheep or llamas. Critics point out that Big horn sheep have never been domesticated by humans.
Goats
Domestic goats are known to have been introduced on the American continent by Europeans in the 15th century, 1000 years after the conclusion of the Book of Mormon, and nearly 2000 years after goats are last mentioned in the Book of Mormon. The aggressive mountain goat
Mountain goat
The Mountain Goat , also known as the Rocky Mountain Goat, is a large-hoofed mammal found only in North America. Despite its vernacular name, it is not a member of Capra, the genus of true goats...
is indigenous to North America. There is no evidence that it was ever domesticated.
Mormon apologists argue the following to deal with this anachronism:
- Apologist Matthew Roper of FARMS points out that 16-century Spanish friars used the word "goat" to refer to native Mesoamerican brocket deerBrocket DeerBrocket deer are the species of deer in the genus Mazama. They are medium to small in size, and are found in the Yucatán Peninsula, Central and South America, and the island of Trinidad. Most species are primarily found in forests. They are superficially similar to the African duikers and the Asian...
.
Swine
The Book of Mormon suggests that swine existed and were domesticated among the Jaredites. 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.Mormon apologists argue the following to deal with this anachronism:
- Some apologists argue that the word "swine" refers to PeccariesPeccaryA peccary is a medium-sized mammal of the family Tayassuidae, or New World Pigs. Peccaries are members of the artiodactyl suborder Suina, as are the pig family and possibly the hippopotamus family...
(also known as Javelinas), an animal that bears a superficial resemblance to pigs.- Critics rebut that there is no archeological evidence that peccaries have ever been domesticated.
Barley and wheat
Barley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
" is mentioned three times in the Book of Mormon narrative dating to the 1st and 2nd century BC. "Wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
" is mentioned once in the Book of Mormon narrative dating to the same time period. The introduction of domesticated modern barley and wheat to the New World was made by Europeans after 1492, many centuries after the time in which the Book of Mormon is set.
Mormon apologists argue the following to deal with this anachronism:
- FARMS apologist Robert Bennett argues that the words "barley" and "wheat" in the Book of Mormon may actually be referring to other crops in the Americas, such as Hordeum pusillumHordeum pusillumHordeum pusillum or little barley is a diploid-type species of the Poaceae family of grasses. H. pusillum, native to the United States except the westernmost parts, originated via multiple long-distance dispersals of a southern South American species of Hordeum to North America about 1 million...
(though Hordeum pusillum was unknown in Mesoamerica and only found to be domesticated in North America). - Bennett also postulates that words may refer to genuine varieties of New World barley and wheat, which are as yet undiscovered in the archaeological record.
Additionally, apologists such as Robert R. Bennett also note that the Norse, after reaching North America, claimed to have found what they called “self-sown wheat”.
Critics reject the notion that Hordeum pusillum was the "barley" referred to in the Book of Mormon. They also note that the earliest mention of barley in the Book of Mormon dates to 121 BC. which is several hundred years prior to the date given for the recent discovery of domesticated Hordeum pusillum in North America.
Silk
The Book of Mormon mentions the use of silkSilk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
six times. “Silk” is commonly understood to mean the material that is created from the cocoon of the Asian moth Bombyx mori
Bombyx mori
The silkworm is the larva or caterpillar of the domesticated silkmoth, Bombyx mori . It is an economically important insect, being a primary producer of silk...
. It is a foregone conclusion that this material was unknown to the Americas before their discovery.
Apologists argue the following to deal with this anachronism:
- Mormon apologist John Sorenson believes that there are several other materials which were used in Mesoamerica anciently which could be the "silk" referred to in the Book of Mormon, including material spun from the hair of rabbit's bellies, the pods of the ceiba tree, or an unidentified wild silkWild silkWild silks have been known and used in many countries from early times, although the scale of production is far smaller than that from cultivated silkworms.-Background:...
worm.
Chariots or wheeled vehicles
Critics argue that there is no archaeological evidence to support the use of wheeled vehicles in Mesoamerica, especially since many parts of ancient Mesoamerica were not suitable for wheeled transport. Clark Wissler
Clark Wissler
Clark Wissler was an American anthropologist.Born near Hagerstown, Indiana, Wissler graduated from Indiana University in 1897. He received his doctorate in psychology from Columbia University in 1901. After Columbia, Wissler left the field of psychology to focus on Anthropology...
, the Curator of Ethnography
Ethnography
Ethnography is a qualitative method aimed to learn and understand cultural phenomena which reflect the knowledge and system of meanings guiding the life of a cultural group...
at the American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
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."
A comparison of the South American Inca civilization to Mesoamerican civilizations shows the same lack of wheeled vehicles. Although the Incas used a vast network of paved roads (see Inca road system
Inca road system
The Inca road system was the most extensive and advanced transportation system in pre-Columbian South America. The network was based on two north-south roads with numerous branches. The best known portion of the road system is the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu...
), these roads are so rough, steep, and narrow that they appear to be unsuitable for wheeled use. Bridges that the Inca people built, and even continue to use and maintain today in some remote areas, are straw-rope bridges so narrow (about 2–3 feet wide) that no wheeled vehicle can fit (see image and technology at Inca rope bridges). Inca roads were used mainly by chaski
Chaski
The Chasquis were agile and highly-trained runners that delivered messages, royal delicacies such as fish and other objects throughout the Inca Empire, principally in the service of the Sapa Inca....
message runners and llama
Llama
The llama is a South American camelid, widely used as a meat and pack animal by Andean cultures since pre-Hispanic times....
caravans.
Some Mormon apologists argue the following to deal with this anachronism:
- One apologist has suggested that the chariots mentioned in the Book of Mormon might refer to mythic or cultic wheeled vehicles.
- Some apologists point out that pre-Columbian wheeled toys have been found in Mesoamerica indicating that the wheel was known by ancient American peoples.
- One LDS apologist argues that few chariot fragments have been found in the Middle East dating to Biblical times (apart from the disassembled chariots found in Tutankhamun's tombKV62KV62 is the tomb of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings , which became famous for the wealth of treasure it contained. The tomb was discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter, underneath the remains of workmen's huts built during the Ramesside Period; this explains why it was spared from the worst of...
), and therefore wheeled chariots did exist in ancient America and it is not unreasonable that archaeologists have not discovered any evidence of them.- Critics counter that although few fragments of chariots have been found in the Middle East, there are many images of ancient chariots on pottery and frescoFrescoFresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
es and in many sculptures of Mediterranean origin, thus confirming their existence in those societies. The absence of these images among pre-Columbian artwork found in the New World, they state, does not support the existence of Old World–style chariots in the New World.
- Critics counter that although few fragments of chariots have been found in the Middle East, there are many images of ancient chariots on pottery and fresco
- Finally, one apologist speculates that the word "chariot" in the Book of Mormon may refer to a non-wheeled vehicle.
Cement
Helaman chapter 3, verse 7 in the Book of Mormon states: "And there being but little timber upon the face of the land, nevertheless the people who went forth became exceedingly expert in the working of cement; therefore they did build houses of cement, in the which they did dwell." There is no evidence of cement being widely used in the ancient Americas around the times of Christ, but cement has been discovered to have been used by at least some Pre-Columbian Native American groups. Joseph Smith described the Book of Mormon plates as being deposited in a stone box in a New York hillside. The box was described as “formed by laying stones together in some kind of cement”.Iron and steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
and iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
are mentioned several times in the Book of Mormon. No evidence has been found in North, Central, or South America of iron being hardened anciently to make “steel”.
Though researchers have shown that primitive metallurgy existed in South America, metal production was only used for adornment purposes. The very earliest metal working there dates to 200 AD with the Moche
Moche
'The Moche civilization flourished in northern Peru from about 100 AD to 800 AD, during the Regional Development Epoch. While this issue is the subject of some debate, many scholars contend that the Moche were not politically organized as a monolithic empire or state...
culture. This dates thousands of years after the Jaredite
Jaredite
The Jaredites are a people written of in the Book of Mormon, principally in the Book of Ether. In the Book of Ether, the Jaredites are described as the descendants of Jared and his brother, at the time of the Tower of Babel. According to the Book of Mormon, the people fled across the Ocean via...
civilization is alleged to have existed and 800 years after the alleged beginning of the Nephite
Nephite
According to the Book of Mormon, a Nephite is a member of one of the four main groups of settlers of the ancient Americas. The other three groups are the Lamanites, Jaredites and Mulekites. In the Book of Mormon, the Nephites were a group of people descended from or associated with Nephi, the...
civilization in the Book of Mormon. Metallurgy spread to Central America by 800 AD (long after the Book of Mormon record closes).
Between 2004 and 2007, a Purdue University
Purdue University
Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
archaeologist, Kevin J. Vaughn, discovered a 2000 year old hematite
Hematite
Hematite, also spelled as haematite, is the mineral form of iron oxide , one of several iron oxides. Hematite crystallizes in the rhombohedral system, and it has the same crystal structure as ilmenite and corundum...
mine near Nazca
Nazca
Nazca is a system of valleys on the southern coast of Peru, and the name of the region's largest existing town in the Nazca Province. It is also the name applied to the Nazca culture that flourished in the area between 300 BC and AD 800...
, Peru. Although hematite is today mined as an iron ore, Vaughn believes that the hematite was then being mined for use as red pigment. There are also numerous excavations that included iron minerals. He noted:
"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."
Apologists counter that the word "steel", as used in the Book of Mormon, likely refers to a hardened metal other than iron. This argument follows from the fact that the Book of Mormon refers to certain Old World articles made of “steel”. Similar “steel” articles mentioned in the King James Version of the Bible are actually hardened copper. It has been amply demonstrated that much of the terminology of the English Book of Mormon, parallels the Authorized King James Bible. Copper and its alloys have the ability to corrode, thus satisfying the description of “blades” which had “cankered with rust”. Ancient mound building cultures of North American are known to have worked copper, silver, gold and meteoric iron.
Metal swords, which had "rusted"
The Book of Mormon makes numerous references to swordsSwords
A sword is a cutting/thrusting weapon made of metal. Sword or swords may also refer to:* Swords, County Dublin, Ireland* Suit of swords, a suit in Latin-suited playing cards and Tarot decks* SWORDS, a ground-based military robot...
and their use in battle. When the remnants of the Jaredites' final battle were discovered, the Book of Mormon narrative states that "the blades thereof were cankered with rust."
Apologists counter that most references to swords do not speak of the material they were made of, and that they may refer to a number of weapons such as the Macuahuitl
Macuahuitl
The maquahuitl is a weapon shaped like a wooden sword. Its sides are embedded with prismatic blades made from obsidian, a volcanic glass stone frequently used for tool making by the Aztec and other pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures...
, a "sword" made of obsidian
Obsidian
Obsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed as an extrusive igneous rock.It is produced when felsic lava extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimum crystal growth...
blades that was used by the Aztecs. It was very sharp and could decapitate a man or horse. However obsidian (volcanic glass), cannot rust.
Cimiters
ScimitarScimitar
A scimitar is a backsword or sabre with a curved blade, originating in Southwest Asia .The Arabic term saif translates to "sword" in general, but is normally taken to refer to the scimitar type of curved backsword in particular.The curved sword or "scimitar" was widespread throughout the Muslim...
s ('Cimiters') are mentioned about ten times in the Book of Mormon as existing hundreds of years before the term was first coined. The word "cimiter" (Scimitar) is considered an anachronism since the word was never used by the Hebrews (from which the Book of Mormon peoples came) or any other civilization prior to 450 AD.
The word cimiter (scimitar) has at different times referred to a long curved sword used by the Persians and Turks, a smaller curved knife similar to the kopis
Kopis
The kopis was a sword with a forward-curving blade, primarily used as a tool for cutting meat, for slaughter and animal sacrifice, but also as a weapon....
of the Turks, or makhaira
Makhaira
Makhaira is a term used by modern scholars to describe a type of ancient bladed weapon, generally a large knife with a slight backwards curve...
of the Greeks.
Apologists argue the following to deal with this anachronism:
- Apologists Michael R. AshMichael R. Ash- Biography :Ash was born in Rockledge, Florida as the second son of an eventual four boys. He currently lives in Ogden, Utah. He and his wife Christine are the parents of three daughters and grandparents of four grandchildren.- Apologetic work :...
and William Hamblin postulate that the word was chosen by Joseph Smith as the closest workable English word for a short curved weapon used by the Nephites. This assumes an unofficial view on the method of translation by Joseph Smith, where he had the liberty to choose the best suited word.
System of exchange based on measures of precious metals
The Book of Mormon describes in detail a system of weights and measuresBook of Mormon weights and measures
Metals in the Book of Mormon are used to describe a weight measurement system as follows:-Gold:*Senine = 0.5 seon [sean] = barley measure = any grain measure = judge's wages for a day...
used by the Nephite society. However, the archaeological record shows that the overall use of metal in ancient America appears to have been extremely limited. But Book of Mormon makes no mention of what materials were used for weights and measures. A more common exchange medium in Mesoamerica were cacao beans.
Windows
The Book of Mormon describes that the Jaredite people were familiar with the concept of "windows" near the time of the Biblical Tower of Babel (presumably circa 2000 BC.Chronology of the Bible
The chronology of the Bible is the elaborate system of genealogies, generations, reign-periods, and other means by which Hebrew Bible measures the passage of time and thus give a chronological framework to biblical history from the Creation until the historical kingdoms of Israel and Judah.The...
) and that they specifically avoided crafting windows for lighting in their covered seagoing vessels because the windows would be "dashed in pieces" during the ocean voyage. However, the earliest known production of glass dates to 3500 BC in Egypt and Mesopotamia, in the form of opaque beads. The earliest known production of transparent glass panes is much more recent, dating to the 11th century AD in Germany which is many hundreds of years after the conclusion of the Book of Mormon record.
Knowledge of Hebrew and Egyptian languages
Egyptian language
Egyptian is the oldest known indigenous language of Egypt and a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. Written records of the Egyptian language have been dated from about 3400 BC, making it one of the oldest recorded languages known. Egyptian was spoken until the late 17th century AD in the...
, and writing the original text of the Book of Mormon in this unknown language, called Reformed Egyptian
Reformed Egyptian
According to the Book of Mormon, that scripture of the Latter Day Saint movement was originally written in reformed Egyptian characters on plates of "ore" by prophets living in the Western Hemisphere from perhaps as early as 2600 BC until as late as AD 421. Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of the...
. A transcript of some of the characters of this language has been preserved in the Anthon Transcript
Anthon Transcript
The Anthon Transcript is a small piece of paper on which Joseph Smith, Jr. wrote several lines of characters. According to Smith, these characters were from the Golden Plates and represent the Reformed Egyptian writing that was on the plates...
.
Archaeological evidence shows that the only people known to have developed written languages in America were the Olmecs and Mayan
Maya civilization
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
s, whose written
Maya script
The Maya script, also known as Maya glyphs or Maya hieroglyphs, is the writing system of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization of Mesoamerica, presently the only Mesoamerican writing system that has been substantially deciphered...
languages have no resemblance to Hebrew or Egyptian hieroglyphs. Additionally, professional linguists and Egyptologists do not consider the Anthon Transcript document to contain any legitimate ancient writing. Klaus Baer, Egyptologist at the University of Chicago, called the characters of the transcript nothing but "doodlings".
The Smithsonian Institution has noted, "Reports of findings of ancient Egyptian Hebrew, and other Old World writings in the New World in pre-Columbian contexts have frequently appeared in newspapers, magazines, and sensational books. None of these claims has stood up to examination by reputable scholars. No inscriptions using Old World forms of writing have been shown to have occurred in any part of the Americas before 1492 except for a few Norse rune stones which have been found in Greenland."
Additionally, linguistic studies on the evolution of the spoken languages of the Americas agree with the widely held model that homo sapiens arrived in America between 15,000 and 10,000 BC. According to the Book of Mormon, immigrants first arrived on the American continent about 2500 BC (the presumed time period of the biblical Tower of Babel
Tower of Babel
The Tower of Babel , according to the Book of Genesis, was an enormous tower built in the plain of Shinar .According to the biblical account, a united humanity of the generations following the Great Flood, speaking a single language and migrating from the east, came to the land of Shinar, where...
).
Mormon apologists argue the following to deal with this anachronism:
- Some apologists argue that the Book of Mormon may not describe the original settlers of the Americas, but a subset of a larger population who settled in a limited regionLimited geography model (Book of Mormon)A limited geography model for the Book of Mormon is one of several theories by Latter Day Saint movement scholars that the book's narrative was a historical record of people in a limited geographical region, rather than of the entire Western Hemisphere as believed by some early Latter Day Saints...
, and that evidence of the knowledge of Hebrew or Egyptian is too sparse to be found.
Systems of measuring time (calendars)
All chronologic dates given in the Book of Mormon are stated in terms of the Nephite calendar. The system of dates used by the rebellious Lamanites is not stated, though the Book of Mormon indicates that Lamanite converts strictly observed the Israelite calendar; inextricably tied to the TorahTorah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
or Mosaic Law. 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 explicitly stated Even so, it is evident that Book of Mormon peoples observed lunar cycles, “months”, and that the Nephites observed the Israelite Sabbath culminating a seven day week.
Most North American tribes relied upon a calendar of 13 months, relating to the yearly number of lunar cycles. Seasonal Rounds and ceremonies were performed each moon. Months were counted in the days between phase cycles of the moon. Calendar Systems in use in North America during this historical period relied on this simple system.
One of the more distinctive features shared among pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations is the use of an extensive system of inter-related calendars
Mesoamerican calendars
Mesoamerican calendars are the calendrical systems devised and used by the pre-Columbian cultures of Mesoamerica. In addition to the basic function of a calendar—defining and organizing periods of time in a way that allows events to be fixed, ordered and noted relative to each other and some...
. The epigraphic
Epigraphy
Epigraphy Epigraphy Epigraphy (from the , literally "on-writing", is the study of inscriptions or epigraphs as writing; that is, the science of identifying the graphemes and of classifying their use as to cultural context and date, elucidating their meaning and assessing what conclusions can be...
and archaeological record for this practice dates back at least 2,500 years, by which time it appears to have been well-established. 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). 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
Olmec
The Olmec were the first major Pre-Columbian civilization in Mexico. They lived in the tropical lowlands of south-central Mexico, in the modern-day states of Veracruz and Tabasco....
, Zapotec
Zapotec civilization
The Zapotec civilization was an indigenous pre-Columbian civilization that flourished in the Valley of Oaxaca of southern Mesoamerica. Archaeological evidence shows their culture goes back at least 2500 years...
, Mixe-Zoque, Mixtec
Mixtec
The Mixtec are indigenous Mesoamerican peoples inhabiting the Mexican states of Oaxaca, Guerrero and Puebla in a region known as La Mixteca. The Mixtecan languages form an important branch of the Otomanguean language family....
, and Maya
Maya civilization
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
(whose system of Maya calendar
Maya calendar
The Maya calendar is a system of calendars and almanacs used in the Maya civilization of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, and in many modern Maya communities in highland Guatemala. and in Chiapas....
s are widely regarded as the most intricate and complex among them) reflected the vigesimal
Vigesimal
The vigesimal or base 20 numeral system is based on twenty .- Places :...
(base 20) numeral system
Numeral system
A numeral system is a writing system for expressing numbers, that is a mathematical notation for representing numbers of a given set, using graphemes or symbols in a consistent manner....
and other numbers, such as 13 and 9.
Early attempts
Commencing in the early 1840s, Latter Day Saints sought to support the Book of Mormon with John Lloyd StephensJohn Lloyd Stephens
John Lloyd Stephens was an American explorer, writer, and diplomat. Stephens was a pivotal figure in the rediscovery of Maya civilization throughout Middle America and in the planning of the Panama railroad....
’ bestseller Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas, and Yucatan. Stephens’ two volume work was promoted by 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, an unsigned Mormon newspaper article appearing in Times and Seasons
Times and Seasons
Times and Seasons was a 19th-century Latter Day Saint periodical published monthly or twice-monthly at Nauvoo, Illinois, from November 1839 to February 15, 1846...
alleged that the ruins of Quirigua
Quiriguá
Quiriguá is an ancient Maya archaeological site in the department of Izabal in south-eastern Guatemala. It is a medium-sized site covering approximately along the lower Motagua River, with the ceremonial center about from the north bank. During the Maya Classic Period , Quiriguá was situated at...
, discovered by Stephens, were the very ruins of Zarahemla
Zarahemla
Zarahemla is the name of a prominent land, a capital city, and a leader in the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon is revered by members of various Latter Day Saint churches as sacred scripture....
or some other Book of Mormon city. It is now known that these Central American ruins date more recent than Book of Mormon times. Other unsigned articles followed, including one published shortly after the death of Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith was founder of what later became known as the Latter Day Saint movement or Mormons.Joseph Smith may also refer to:-Latter Day Saints:* Joseph Smith, Sr. , father 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.
Additionally, Latter-day Saints have based some of their conclusions regarding archaeology and the Book of Mormon on unproven archaeological data which looked promising at the time but has since been found to be either erroneous and or fraudulent. In recent years, this has caused LDS scholars to take a very critical approach to the work of other LDS researchers on this subject. Mormon scholar John L. Sorenson
John L. Sorenson
John L. Sorenson is an emeritus professor of anthropology at Brigham Young University and the author of An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon as well as many other books and articles on the Book of Mormon and archaeology.Sorenson first did archaeological work in Mesoamerica while...
states that "LDS scholars themselves have attacked the same shoddy scholarship that makes Book of Mormon archaeology a playground for hobbyists."
New World Archaeological Foundation
From the mid-1950s onwards, the Church-owned Brigham Young UniversityBrigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
has sponsored (under the banner of the New World Archaeological Foundation
New World Archaeological Foundation
The New World Archaeological Foundation is an archaeological organization run by Brigham Young University.The NWAF was organized in 1952 for the purpose of supporting archaeological research into pre-Columbian cultures of Mesoamerica. It was founded by Thomas Stuart Ferguson, Alfred V. Kidder and...
, or NWAF) a large number of archaeological excavations in Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a region and culture area in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, within which a number of pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and...
, with a focus on the Mesoamerican time period
Mesoamerican chronology
Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica into several periods: the Paleo-Indian , the Archaic , the Preclassic , the Classic , and the Postclassic...
known as the Preclassic (earlier than c. AD 200). 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. Citing the lack of specific New World geographic locations to search, Michael D. Coe
Michael D. Coe
Michael D. Coe is an American archaeologist, anthropologist, epigrapher and author. Primarily known for his research in the field of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican studies , Coe has also made extensive investigations across a variety...
, a prominent Mesoamerican archaeologist and Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at Yale University, wrote,
"As far as I know there is not one professionally trained archaeologist, who is not a Mormon, who sees any scientific justification for believing the historicity of The Book of Mormon, and I would like to state that there are quite a few Mormon archaeologists who join this group".
In 1955 Thomas Ferguson, an LDS member and founder of the NWAF, with five years of funding from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, began to dig throughout Mesoamerica for evidence of the veracity of the Book of Mormon claims. In a 1961 newsletter Ferguson predicted that although nothing had been found, the Book of Mormon cities would be found within 10 years. In 1972, Christian scholar Hal Hougey wrote Ferguson questioning the progress given the stated timetable in which the cities would be found. Replying to Hougey as well as secular and non-secular requests, Ferguson wrote in a letter dated 5 June 1972:
"Ten years have passed... I had sincerely hoped that Book-of-Mormon cities would be positively identified within 10 years — and time has proved me wrong in my anticipation."
During the period of 1959-1961, NWAF colleague Dee Green was editor of the BYU Archaeological Society Newsletter and had an article from it published in the summer of 1969 edition of Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought
Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought
Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought is an independent quarterly journal of "Mormon thought" that addresses a wide range of issues on Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint Movement....
, pp 76–78 in which he acknowledged that the NWAF findings did not back up the veracity of the Book of Mormon claims. After this article and another six years of fruitless search, Thomas Ferguson published a 29-page paper in 1975 where he concluded,
"I'm afraid that up to this point, I must agree with Dee Green, who has told us that to date there is no Book-of-Mormon geography...".
In 1976, referring to his own paper, Ferguson wrote a letter in which he stated:
"...The real implication of the paper is that you can't set the Book-of-Mormon geography down anywhere — because it is fictional and will never meet the requirements of the dirt-archeology. I should say — what is in the ground will never conform to what is in the book."
Ferguson’s archaeological efforts failed to garner complete support from all prominent LDS scholars. Author and LDS Professor of Biblical and Mormon scripture Hugh Nibley published the following critical remarks:
“...Book of Mormon archaeologists have often been disappointed in the past because they have consistently looked for the wrong things... Blinded by the gold of the pharaohs and the mighty ruins of Babylon, Book of Mormon students have declared themselves “not interested” in the drab and commonplace remains of our lowly Indians. But in all the Book of Mormon we look in vain for anything that promises majestic ruins.”
Though the NWAF failed to establish Book of Mormon archaeology, the archaeological investigations of NWAF-sponsored projects were a success for ancient American archaeology in general which has been recognized and appreciated by non-Mormon archaeologists. Currently BYU
BYU
-Education:* Brigham Young University, a university located in Provo, Utah, USA administered by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.**BYU Salt Lake Center, a satellite center in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA...
maintains 86 documents on the work of the NWAF at the BYU NWAF website and these documents are used outside both BYU and the LDS church by researchers.
Modern approach and conclusions
As noted above, there is a general consensus among non-Mormon archaeologists (and even some Mormon archaeologists) that the archaeological record does not substantiate the Book of Mormon account, and in some ways directly contradicts it. Due to the difficulties that beset Mormon archaeology, most Mormon apologists 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 historicityHistoricity of the Book of Mormon
The question of the historical authenticity of the Book of Mormon has long been a source of contention between members of the Latter Day Saint movement and non-members. Many, but not all, Mormons hold the book's connection to ancient American history as an article of their faith. However, this view...
, they have accumulated a large amount of research which they use to support their conclusions. These correlations are disputed by non-Mormon archaeologists who see no such parallels. Non-Mormon scholars, historians, and archaeologists have concluded that the body of evidence found disproves the conclusions of Mormon apologists and the historical authenticity of the Book of Mormon itself.
An example of the mainstream archaeological opinion of Mormon archaeology is summarized by historian and journalist Hampton Sides
Hampton Sides
Hampton Sides is an American historian and journalist. He is the author of Hellhound on His Trail, Ghost Soldiers, Blood and Thunder, and other bestselling works of narrative history and literary non-fiction....
:
“Yales Michael Coe likes to talk about what he calls “the fallacy of misplaced concreteness,” the tendency among Mormon theorists like Sorenson to keep the discussion trained on all sorts of extraneous subtopics… while avoiding what is most obvious: that Joseph Smith probably meant “horse” when he wrote down the word “horse,” …”
Old World Mormon archaeology
Some Mormon archaeologists and researchers have focused on the Arabian peninsula in the Middle East where they believe the Book of Mormon narrative describes actual locations. These alleged connections include the following:- One Mormon apologist believes that an ancient tribe known to have existed on the Arabian Peninsula with a similar name to that of the Book of Mormon figure LehiLehi (Book of Mormon prophet)According to the Book of Mormon, Lehi was a prophet who lived in Jerusalem during the reign of king Zedekiah . Lehi was an Israelite of the Tribe of Manasseh, and father to Nephi, another prominent prophet in the Book of Mormon...
may have adopted his name. Other Mormon scholars have not reached this conclusion, as there is "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." - The Wadi Tayyib al-Ism is considered to be a plausible location for the Book of Mormon River of Laman by some LDS researchers. This is disputed by other LDS researchers.
- Some Mormon apologists believe that the Book of Mormon place name "Nahom" correlates to a location in Yemen referred to as "NHM". This link is disputed both by other LDS researchers and mainstream archaeologists.
- LDS scholars believe they have located several plausible sites for the Book of Mormon location "Bountiful".
- One Mormon apologist believes that an ancient Judean artifact is connected with the Book of Mormon figure MulekMulekAccording to the Book of Mormon, Mulek was the only surviving son of Zedekiah, the last King of Judah, after the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem...
. - Several Mormon apologists have proposed a variety of locations on the Arabian Peninsula that they believe could be the Book of Mormon location "Shazer".
New World Mormon archaeology
Archaeological studies in the New World that tie Book of Mormon places and peoples to real world locations and civilizations are incredibly difficult since there are generally no landmarks defined in the Book of Mormon that can unambiguously identify real world locations. Generally non-Mormon archaeologists do not consider there to be any authentic Book of Mormon archaeological sites. Various apologists have claimed that events in the Book of Mormon took place in a variety of locations including North America, South America, Central America, and even the Malay PeninsulaMalay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a peninsula in Southeast Asia. The land mass runs approximately north-south and, at its terminus, is the southern-most point of the Asian mainland...
These finds are divided into competing models, most notably the Hemispheric Geography Model, the Mesoamerican Limited Geography Model, and the Finger Lakes Limited Geography Model.
Hemispheric Geography Model
The Hemispheric Geography Model posits that the events of the Book of Mormon took place over the entirety of the North and South American continents. This model is held as a widespread cultural belief among many lay Mormons. By corollary many Mormons believe that the three groups mentioned in the Book of Mormon (Jaredites, Nephites, and Lamanites) exclusively populated an empty North and South American Continent, and that Native AmericansIndigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
were all of Israeli descent. Many Mormons use the terms "Lamanite
Lamanite
According to the Book of Mormon, a Lamanite is a member of a dark-skinned nation of indigenous Americans that battled with the light-skinned Nephite nation...
" and "Indian" interchangeably.
The LDS church's view of the issue has shifted slightly over time, with Joseph Smith and early Mormon leaders taking the traditional stance. This model was also implicitly endorsed in the introduction to the Book of Mormon, which noted that Lamanites are the "principal ancestors of the American Indians." More recently the church has not taken a strong position on the absolute origin of Native American peoples.
Some Mormon apologists believe the following archaeological finds support this theory:
- Additionally, some Mormon apologists note that on June 4, 1834, during the Zion's CampZion's CampZion's Camp was a paramilitary expedition of Latter Day Saints, led by Joseph Smith, Jr., from Kirtland, Ohio to Clay County, Missouri during May and June 1834 in an unsuccessful attempt to regain land from which the Saints had been expelled by non-Mormon settlers...
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..."
Criticism of the Hemispheric Model
- Critics have noted that the assumption that Lamanites are the ancestors of the American Indians are wholly unfounded in current archaeological and genetic research.
Mesoamerican Limited Geography Model
The Mesoamerican Limited Geography ModelLimited geography model (Book of Mormon)
A limited geography model for the Book of Mormon is one of several theories by Latter Day Saint movement scholars that the book's narrative was a historical record of people in a limited geographical region, rather than of the entire Western Hemisphere as believed by some early Latter Day Saints...
, posits that the events of the Book of Mormon occurred in a geographically "limited" region in Mesoamerica only hundreds of miles in dimension and that other people were present in the New World at the time of Lehi's arrival. This model has been proposed and advocated by various Mormon apologists in the 20th century (both RLDS
Community of Christ
The Community of Christ, known from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints , is an American-based international Christian church established in April 1830 that claims as its mission "to proclaim Jesus Christ and promote communities of joy, hope, love, and peace"...
and LDS). Geographically limited settings for the Book of Mormon have been suggested by LDS church leaders as well, and this view has been published in the official church magazine, The Ensign.
Mormon apologists believe the following archaeological evidence supports the Mesoamerican Geography Model:
- Some Mormon apologists argue that there is only a single plausible match with the geography in Mesoamerica centered around the Isthmus of TehuantepecIsthmus of TehuantepecThe Isthmus of Tehuantepec is an isthmus in Mexico. It represents the shortest distance between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean, and prior to the opening of the Panama Canal was a major shipping route known simply as the Tehuantepec Route...
(current day GuatemalaGuatemalaGuatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
, the southern Mexico States of TabascoTabascoTabasco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tabasco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa....
, ChiapasChiapasChiapas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas is one of the 31 states that, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 118 municipalities and its capital city is Tuxtla Gutierrez. Other important cites in Chiapas include San Cristóbal de las...
, OaxacaOaxacaOaxaca , , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 571 municipalities; of which 418 are governed by the system of customs and traditions...
, VeracruzVeracruzVeracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave , is one of the 31 states that, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided in 212 municipalities and its capital city is...
, and the surrounding area). 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). - Some Mormon apologists believe that the Book of Mormon's account of large-scale warfare has been confirmed by findings in ancient Mesoamerica.
- Some apologists, and church leaders (including Joseph Smith) believe that the MayaMaya civilizationThe Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
ruins on the Yucatán PeninsulaYucatán PeninsulaThe Yucatán Peninsula, in southeastern Mexico, separates the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico, with the northern coastline on the Yucatán Channel...
belonged to Book of Mormon peoples LDS efforts to relate anachronistic Mayan ruins to Book of Mormon cities, owes much of its origins to an infatuation with archaeologists Stephens’ and Catherwood’s discoveries of Mesoamerican ruins, made public more than a decade after the first publication of the Book of Mormon. These findings were cited by early church leaders and publications as confirming evidence. This correlation is clearly problematic however, since conventional archaeology places the pinnacle of Mayan civilization several centuries after the final events in the Book of Mormon supposedly occurred..- Critics note that according to , Nephite civilization came to an end near the year 384 AD. CopanCopánCopán is an archaeological site of the Maya civilization located in the Copán Department of western Honduras, not far from the border with Guatemala. It was the capital city of a major Classic period kingdom from the 5th to 9th centuries AD...
, QuiriguaQuiriguáQuiriguá is an ancient Maya archaeological site in the department of Izabal in south-eastern Guatemala. It is a medium-sized site covering approximately along the lower Motagua River, with the ceremonial center about from the north bank. During the Maya Classic Period , Quiriguá was situated at...
, and sites in the YucatanYucatánYucatán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Yucatán is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 106 municipalities and its capital city is Mérida....
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 date to Book of Mormon times.
- Critics note that according to , Nephite civilization came to an end near the year 384 AD. Copan
Criticism of the Mesoamerican Geography Model
- 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. In response to one of these critiques in 1994, Sorenson reaffirmed his support for a limited Mesoamerican geographical setting.
- Establishing connections between ruins of the Mayan civilization (for example, QuiriguaQuiriguáQuiriguá is an ancient Maya archaeological site in the department of Izabal in south-eastern Guatemala. It is a medium-sized site covering approximately along the lower Motagua River, with the ceremonial center about from the north bank. During the Maya Classic Period , Quiriguá was situated at...
, KaminaljuyuKaminaljuyuKaminaljuyu is a Pre-Columbian site of the Maya civilization that was primarily occupied from 1500 BC to AD 1200. Kaminaljuyu has been described as one of the greatest of all archaeological sites in the New World by Michael Coe, although its remains today - a few mounds only - are far less...
, and TikalTikalTikal is one of the largest archaeological sites and urban centres of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. It is located in the archaeological region of the Petén Basin in what is now northern Guatemala...
in GuatemalaGuatemalaGuatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
, and CopánCopánCopán is an archaeological site of the Maya civilization located in the Copán Department of western Honduras, not far from the border with Guatemala. It was the capital city of a major Classic period kingdom from the 5th to 9th centuries AD...
in HondurasHondurasHonduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
, and PalenquePalenquePalenque was a Maya city state in southern Mexico that flourished in the 7th century. The Palenque ruins date back to 100 BC to its fall around 800 AD...
in MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
) and the cities and civilizations mentioned in the Book of Mormon has been difficult for Mormon apologists on a number of fronts, the most significant issue being dating. Conventional archaeology places the pinnacle of Mayan civilization several centuries after the final events in the Book of Mormon supposedly occurred. - Among apologists, there have been critiques - particularly around the location of the Hill Cumorah, which most Mormons consider to be definitively identified as a location in New York. In a Mesoamerican Limited Geography model, this would require there to be two Cumorahs (which some consider preposterous).
Finger Lakes Limited Geography Model
Some Mormon apologists hold that the events of the Book of Mormon occurred in a small region in and around the Finger LakesFinger Lakes
The Finger Lakes are a pattern of lakes in the west-central section of Upstate New York in the United States. They are a popular tourist destination. The lakes are long and thin , each oriented roughly on a north-south axis. The two longest, Cayuga Lake and Seneca Lake, are among the deepest in...
region of New York. Part of the basis of this theory lies on statements made by Joseph Smith and other church leaders.
Mormon apologists believe the archaeological evidence below supports claims that authentic Book of Mormon sites exist in the Finger Lakes region of New York:
- Mormon scholar Hugh NibleyHugh NibleyHugh Winder Nibley was an American author, Mormon apologist, and professor at Brigham Young University...
, drew attention to mound builder works of North America as “an excellent description of Book of Mormon strong places”.
Archaeological evidence of large populations
LDS scholars estimate that at various periods in Book of Mormon history, the populations of civilizations discussed in the book, ranged between 300,000 and 1.5 million people. The size of the late Jaredite civilization was even larger. According to the Book of Mormon, the final war that destroyed the Jaredites killed at least two million men. The Book of Mormon describes peoples that were literate, had knowledge of Old World languages, and possessed Old World derived writing systems.From Book of Mormon population estimates, it is evident that the civilizations described are comparable in size to the civilizations of Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
, Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
, Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
, and the Maya
Maya civilization
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
. Such civilizations left numerous artifacts in the form of hewn stone ruins, tombs, temples, pyramids, roads, arches, walls, frescos, statues, vases, coins, etc. The archaeological problem posed by the earth, timber and metal working societies described in the Book of Mormon was summarized by Hugh Nibley (prominent LDS professor of ancient history):
“We should not be surprised at the lack of ruins in America in general. Actually the scarcity of identifiable remains in the Old World is even more impressive. In view of the nature of their civilization one should not be puzzled if the Nephites had left us no ruins at all. People underestimate the capacity of things to disappear, and do not realize that the ancients almost never built of stone. Many a great civilization which has left a notable mark in history and literature has left behind not a single recognizable trace of itself. We must stop looking for the wrong things.”
Existing ancient records of the New World
The National Geographic Society has noted, "Reports of findings of ancient Egyptian Hebrew, and other Old World writings in the New World in pre-Columbian contexts have frequently appeared in newspapers, magazines, and sensational books. None of these claims has stood up to examination by reputable scholars. No inscriptions using Old World forms of writing have been shown to have occurred in any part of the Americas before 1492 except for a few Norse rune stones which have been found in Greenland."Losses of ancient writings occurred in the Old World - in deliberate or accidental fires, in wars, earthquakes, floods, etc. Similar losses occurred in the New World. Much of the literature of the Pre-Columbian Maya
Maya civilization
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
was destroyed during the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
conquest in the 16th century. 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).
The Maya civilization also left behind a vast corpus of inscriptions (upwards of ten thousand are known) written in the Maya script
Maya script
The Maya script, also known as Maya glyphs or Maya hieroglyphs, is the writing system of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization of Mesoamerica, presently the only Mesoamerican writing system that has been substantially deciphered...
, the earliest of which date from around the 3rd century BC with the majority written in the Classic Period (c. 250–900 AD). Mayanist
Mayanist
A Mayanist is a scholar specialising in research and study of the Central American pre-Columbian Maya civilization. This discipline should not be confused with Mayanism, a collection of New Age beliefs about the ancient Maya....
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 BC being recorded on Chiapa de Corzo Stela 2 in central Chiapas. None of these inscriptions make contact with events, places, rulers, or timeline of Book of Mormon.
One LDS researcher uses as supporting evidence, ancient Mesoamerican accounts that appear somewhat to parallel events recorded in the Book of Mormon.
The Jaredites and the Olmec
There is no archaeological evidence of the Jaredite people described in the Book of Mormon that is accepted by mainstream archaeologists. Nevertheless, some LDS scholars believe that the Jaredites were the OlmecOlmec
The Olmec were the first major Pre-Columbian civilization in Mexico. They lived in the tropical lowlands of south-central Mexico, in the modern-day states of Veracruz and Tabasco....
civilization, though archaeological evidence supporting this theory is disputed and circumstantial.
Unlike the Jaredites of the Book of Mormon, whose society predominantly situated in lands north of a “narrow neck” of land,” Olmec civilization spread to both the east and west sides of a broad, lateral Central American isthmus (the Isthmus of Tehuantepec
Isthmus of Tehuantepec
The Isthmus of Tehuantepec is an isthmus in Mexico. It represents the shortest distance between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean, and prior to the opening of the Panama Canal was a major shipping route known simply as the Tehuantepec Route...
).
The Jaredite civilization in the American covenant land is said to have been completely destroyed as the result of a civil war near the time that Lehi's party is said to have arrived in the New World (approximately 590 B.C.). Olmec civilization, on the other hand, 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 (according to Coe). Although the Olmec civilization ended, there are indications that some of the Olmec people survived and interacted with other cultures.
While making allowance for the likelihood that Book of Mormon peoples migrated to Mexico and Central America, Joseph Smith nevertheless placed the arrival of the Jaredites in “the lake country of America” (region of Lake Ontario).
The Nephites
No Central or South American civilization is recognized by academia to correlate with the Nephites of the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon makes no mention of Lamanites or Nephites erecting impressive works of hewn stone as did the Maya or various South American peoples. Some believe that LDS scripture indicates that events surrounding the Book of Mormon occurred anciently in the Great Lakes region. Numerous aboriginal fortresses of earth and timber were known to have existed in this region.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.
One archaeologist has noted the existence of ancient Mesoamerican defensive fortifications. According to one article in the Ensign, military fortifying berm
Berm
A berm is a level space, shelf, or raised barrier separating two areas. Berm originates in the Middle Dutch and German berme and came into usage in English via French.- History :...
s are found in the Yucatan Peninsula, in the region appropriate to where some LDS scholars suggest that the wars described in the Book of Mormon could plausibly have occurred. Other researchers find it ironic that such great lengths would be taken to find “Moroniesque”, aboriginal defensive works (fitting Book of Mormon description) so far away from scriptural Cumorah, when such works are known to have existed in the State of New York and eastern United States.
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
Izapa Stela 5
Izapa Stela 5 is one of a number of large, carved stelae found in the ancient Mesoamerican site of Izapa, in the Soconusco region of Chiapas, Mexico along the present-day Guatemalan border...
in Izapa
Izapa
Izapa is a very large pre-Columbian archaeological site located in the Mexican state of Chiapas; it was occupied during the Late Formative period. The site is situated on the Izapa River, a tributary of the Suchiate River, near the base of the Tacaná volcano), the fourth largest mountain in...
was a depiction of a Book of Mormon event called Lehi's dream, which features a vision of the tree of life. This interpretation is disputed by other Mormon and non-Mormon scholars. 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".
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"). LDS researchers have claimed that Copan Stela B depicts elephants; others claim it depicts macaws.
Recording records on metal 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."Recent discoveries in the Old World
Old World
The Old World consists of those parts of the world known to classical antiquity and the European Middle Ages. It is used in the context of, and contrast with, the "New World" ....
have provided some evidence that this was an established method for recording information considered important.
As a point of comparison, the oldest known Biblical verses preserved in archaeology are three verses from the Book of Numbers
Book of Numbers
The Book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch....
, chapter 6, verses 24-26
Priestly Blessing
The Priestly Blessing, , also known in Hebrew as Nesiat Kapayim, , or Dukhanen , is a Jewish prayer recited by Kohanim during certain Jewish services...
, that were on a pair of small silver amulets found by Israeli archaeologist Gabriel Barkay
Gabriel Barkay
Gabriel Barkay is an Israeli archaeologist. Born in 1944 in Hungary, he immigrated to Israel in 1950. He received his PhD in Archaeology from Tel Aviv University in 1985. His dissertation was about LMLK seal impressions on jar handles. He participated in the Lachish excavations with David Ussishkin...
at Ketef Hinnom
Ketef Hinnom
Ketef Hinnom is an archaeological site southwest of the Old City of Jerusalem, adjacent to St. Andrew's Church of Scotland. The site consists of a series of rock-hewn burial chambers based on natural caverns...
and dated to the 6th century BC, during the same time period the Book of Mormon events are purported to have taken place.
Copper plates were used in ancient India to record history; the largest grouping of metallic tablets to document a historical event consists of 3000 plates.
See also
- Biblical archaeologyBiblical archaeologyFor the movement associated with William F. Albright and also known as biblical archaeology, see Biblical archaeology school. For the interpretation of biblical archaeology in relation to biblical historicity, see The Bible and history....
- Criticism of Mormonism
- Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon ThoughtDialogue: A Journal of Mormon ThoughtDialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought is an independent quarterly journal of "Mormon thought" that addresses a wide range of issues on Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint Movement....
--on-line archive includes articles on Archaeology and BoM - Genetics and the Book of MormonGenetics and the Book of MormonThe Book of Mormon, one of the four books of scripture of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , is an account of three groups of people. Two of these groups supposedly originated from Israel...
- Historicity of the Book of MormonHistoricity of the Book of MormonThe question of the historical authenticity of the Book of Mormon has long been a source of contention between members of the Latter Day Saint movement and non-members. Many, but not all, Mormons hold the book's connection to ancient American history as an article of their faith. However, this view...
- Izapa Stela 5Izapa Stela 5Izapa Stela 5 is one of a number of large, carved stelae found in the ancient Mesoamerican site of Izapa, in the Soconusco region of Chiapas, Mexico along the present-day Guatemalan border...
- Khirbet Beit LeiKhirbet Beit LeiKhirbet Beit Lei, Khirbet Beit Lehi or Beth Loya is an archaeological tell in the Judean lowlands, of Israel. It is located about 5.5 km southeast of Beth Guvrin on a hill 400 m above sea level.-History:...
- Linguistics and the Book of MormonLinguistics and the Book of MormonAccording to most adherents of the Latter Day Saint movement, the Book of Mormon is a 19th century translation of a record of ancient inhabitants of the American continent, which was written in a script which the book refers to as "reformed Egyptian." This claim, as well as virtually all claims to...
- Los Lunas Decalogue StoneLos Lunas Decalogue StoneThe Los Lunas Decalogue Stone is a large boulder on the side of Hidden Mountain, near Los Lunas, New Mexico, about 35 miles south of Albuquerque, that bears a very regular inscription carved into a flat panel. The stone is also known as the Los Lunas Mystery Stone or Commandment Rock...
- Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contactPre-Columbian trans-oceanic contactTheories of Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact are those theories that propose interaction between indigenous peoples of the Americas who settled the Americas before 10,000 BC, and peoples of other continents , which occurred before the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Caribbean in 1492.Many...
- Reformed EgyptianReformed EgyptianAccording to the Book of Mormon, that scripture of the Latter Day Saint movement was originally written in reformed Egyptian characters on plates of "ore" by prophets living in the Western Hemisphere from perhaps as early as 2600 BC until as late as AD 421. Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of the...
- ZelphZelphZelph is a minor figure in Mormon history. In May and June 1834 Joseph Smith led a Mormon group on a march from Kirtland, Ohio to Jackson County, Missouri. On June 3, while passing through southern Illinois near Griggsville, some bones were discovered buried in a mound...
External links
- (Pro) http://www.nephiproject.com/nephi_project_major_discoveries.htm
- (Pro) Book of Mormon Correlations
- (Pro) http://www.jefflindsay.com/LDSFAQ/DNA.shtml
- (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) Institute of Religious Research page on the Book of Mormon
- (Con) http://www.ericbarger.com/mormon.dna.htm
- (Con) The Skeptics Annotated BOM
- (Con) http://utlm.org/topicalindexa.htm#Archeology
- (Con) The Mormon Curtain. Book of Mormon Geography
- Steel in Early Metallurgy John L. Sorenson Journal of Book of Mormon Studies: Volume - 15, Issue - 2 Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, 2006 http://ispart.byu.edu/publications/jbms/?vol=15&num=2&id=423
- An Approach to the Book of Mormon Geography, 2009