Archaeology and the Book of Mormon
| Part of a series on the |
| Book of Mormon |
|---|
 |
The relationship between Archaeology and the Book of Mormon is based on the claims made by the Book of Mormon that the ancient Americas were populated by Old World immigrants and their corresponding
The orthodox view of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and other denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement believe the Book of Mormon describes ancient historical events in the Americas. The orthodox view remains dominant in the Latter Day Saint movement, though in recent decades, various individuals and groups have begun to describe the work as "inspired" rather than asserting the book to be literal account of history. For example, in 2007, the Community of Christ affirmed that the book was considered scripture, but that it did not mandate any degree of belief or use. As a result, a wide spectrum of belief exists within the group, ranging from individuals who believe in its historicity to those seeing it as inspired but not historical. A range of beliefs also exists between individuals in other groups.
Since the book's publication in 1830,
Background
The Book of Mormon narrative, together with supporting statements by Joseph Smith, his associates, and later
Modern archaeology
The Americas began to be populated when
The precise date for the peopling of the Americas is a long-standing open question. While advances in archaeology and other fields have progressively shed more light on the subject, significant questions remain unresolved.
The Mound Builder Myth
The Book of Mormon is considered by many historians and archeologists to fall into the Mound Builder genre. The genre began when American colonists reached the former lands of the Hopewell tradition in the early 19th century. As with European colonialism, American manifest destiny relied on the moral and legal premise that colonization was permissible so long as the displaced natives were uncivilized. However, the existence of the Hopewell ruins definitively proved that there were civilizations in ancient North America. Manifest destiny could not allow the obvious conclusion that the builders of the Hopewell ruins were native American ancestors, leading to the invention of the myth of the Mound Builders.
Publications that speculated or repeated the Mound Builder myth are collectively known as the "Mound Builder" genre, which was ubiquitous during the nineteenth century.[30] These origin myths often attributed the ruins to Vikings, the Welsh prince Madoc, Atlantis, giants, or ancient Israelites. The interest in ancient Israelites is notable because it revived the much older Jewish Indian theory, a theory also reflected in the Book of Mormon. Note that similar speculation occurred earlier in Spanish-speaking regions of the Western Hemisphere, but these had little influence on the Mound Builder myth due to a lack of available translations.
The earliest investigations of Hopewell ruins were demolitions by farmers and treasure hunters funded by speculators. Notably, Joseph Smith, was employed as a treasure-hunter in the 1820's, digging in the Hopewell ruins located in upstate New York. In 1826, Smith was convicted of misdemeanor fraud for claiming to investors that he had divine knowledge of the location of buried treasure but failing to produce any. Some nineteenth-century archaeological finds (e.g., earth and timber fortifications and towns,[31] the use of a plaster-like cement,[32] ancient roads,[33] metal points and implements,[34] copper breastplates,[35] head-plates,[36] textiles,[37] pearls,[38] native North American inscriptions, North American elephant remains etc.) were well-publicized at the time of the publication of the Book of Mormon and there is incorporation of some of these ideas into the narrative.
The Mound Builder myth was also important because it contributed to the development of modern professional archeology. Some early attempts to systematically survey the formations were made as early as 1820,[39] with a much more sophiticated survey produced in 1848 by Davis and Squier.[40] The 1848 book was a milestone in the technical development of the modern field of archeology.[41] By 1890, scientific consensus had overwhelmingly identified the extant native Americans as the true descendants of the Hopewell tradition.[42]
Proposed geographical settings
Smith and the Book of Mormon itself imply that the Jaredites, Nephites, and Lamanites were the first and only inhabitants of the ancient Americas in what is today called the hemispheric geography model by Mormon apologists. Since the publication of the Book of Mormon, archeology has documented hundreds of ancient American cultures that bear no similarity with those described in the book. Each time archeology has progressed and systematically ruled out proposed geographic models, apologists have proposed progressively smaller locations where these civilizations might have existed [43] most notably North America, South America, and further subdivided into numerous smaller regions such as Mesoamerica or the Finger Lakes in upstate New York.[44]
Geographic models attempt to map the geographic, demographic, and economic details of the Book of Mormon to real geographic and archeological features. For example, the Book of Mormon describes a "narrow neck of land" or isthmus that connects a "land northward" and a "land southward", surrounded by eastern and western seas. All models attempt to identify that isthmus and the north and south regions. All models also gravitate toward cultures known for building monumental structures. The Book of Mormon spends considerable time describing earthwork fortifications, but these are notably absent in cultures outside the Hopewell tradition. Some models also consider population size since the population sizes described in the Book of Mormon are not possible in the majority of the ancient western hemisphere.
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. By corollary some Mormons believe that the people chronicled in the Book of Mormon exclusively populated an empty North and South American Continent, and that Native Americans were all of Israeli descent.
Speculations from various church leaders has shifted slightly over time, with early Mormon leaders including Orson Pratt taking a traditional stance.[45][46][47][48] This model was also implicitly endorsed in the introduction to the Book of Mormon which, before 2008, stated that Lamanites are the "principal ancestors of the American Indians."[49] More recently, the church has not taken as strong position on the absolute origin of Native American peoples.[50]
Some Mormon apologists note that during a trek through Illinois, Joseph Smith stated he and his travelling group were "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".[51]
The claim that Lamanites are the ancestors of the American Indians is wholly unfounded in current archaeological and genetic research.[52]
Limited geography models
Mesoamerican Limited Geography Model
The Mesoamerican
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.[59][60]
Among apologists, there have been critiques of this model—particularly around the location of the
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 Lakes region of New York. Part of the basis of this theory lies on statements made by Joseph Smith and other church leaders.[62][63]
Criticism of this model comes on demographic grounds: Mormon scholars have estimated that at various periods in Book of Mormon history, the populations of civilizations discussed in the book would have ranged between 300,000 and 1.5 million people.[64] The size of the late Jaredite civilization was even larger. According to the Book of Mormon, the final war that destroyed the Jaredites resulted in the deaths of at least two million people.[65] 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, and coins. However, the only civilizations in the western hemisphere that ever approached that size were in the Andes and Mesoamerica.
Anachronisms and archaeological findings
Critics of the Book of Mormon hold that certain words and phrases in the book are
Horses
The Book of Mormon mentions horses in five incidences, and are portrayed as being in the forest upon first arrival of the Nephites, "raise(d)", "fed", "prepared" (in conjunction with chariots), used for food, and being "useful unto man".[66] Horses in the Americas are considered to have become extinct between 10,000 and 7,600 years ago,[67][68][69] 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.[70] Mormon archaeologist John L. Sorenson claims that there is fossil evidence that some New World horses may have survived the Pleistocene–Holocene transition,[71] though these findings are disputed by other Book of Mormon scholars.[72] Alternately, 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 tapir.[73]
Elephants
Some amateur archaeologists and Mormon authors have cited controversial evidence that North American
Cattle and cows
There are five separate incidences of "cows" or "cattle" in the New World in the Book of Mormon, including verbiage that they were "raise(d)" and were "for the use of man" or "useful for the food of man",[79] and indicates that "cattle" and "cows" were not considered the same animal.[80] 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.[81] Further, there is currently no archaeological evidence of American bison having been domesticated.[82] It is widely accepted that the only large mammals to be domesticated in the Americas were the llama and the alpaca and that no species of goats, deer, or sheep were fully domesticated before the arrival of the Europeans to the continent.
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 Bos. Thus, they claim the term "cattle" may refer to mountain goats; llamas; or the ancestor of the American bison, Bison antiquus (of the sub family Bovinae).[83]
Sheep
"Sheep" are mentioned in the Book of Mormon metaphorically at various places in the Nephite record[84] but are conspicuously absent in the list of animals observed in the New World upon the arrival of the Nephites.[85] In one instance sheep are described as being possessed by the Jaredites in the Americas at c. 2300 BC.[86] Another verse mentions "lamb-skin" worn by enemy armies of robbers about their loins (c. 21 AD).[87] However, domesticated sheep are known to have been first introduced to the Americas during the second voyage of Columbus in 1493.[88]
Mormon apologists argue the sheep referred to by the Jaredites, as the reference is not long after their arrival c. 2500 BC, is referring to Old World sheep as it is mentioned in the Book of Mormon that the Jaredites brought animals and birds with them,[89][90] and the reference to lamb-skins may refer to wild sheep that were hunted. No evidence of domesticated sheep has been found in the Americas prior to Columbus.[91]
Goats
"Goats" are mentioned three times in the Book of Mormon[92] 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.
Domesticated goats are known to have been introduced on the American continent by Europeans in the 15th century,[88] 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 Apologist Matthew Roper has countered these claims, pointing out that 16th-century Spanish friars used the word "goat" to refer to native Mesoamerican brocket deer.[93] There is no evidence that brocket deer were ever domesticated.
Swine
"Swine" are referred to twice in the Book of Mormon,
Apologists note that peccaries (also known as javelinas), which bear a resemblance to pigs and are in the same subfamily Suinae as swine, have been present in South America since prehistoric times.[97] Mormon authors advocating the original mound-builder setting for the Book of Mormon have similarly suggested North American peccaries (also called "wild pigs")[98] as the "swine" of the Jaredites.[99] The earliest scientific description of peccaries in the New World in Brazil in 1547 referred to them as "wild pigs".[100]
Though it has not been documented that peccaries were bred in captivity, it has been documented that peccaries were tamed, penned, and raised for food and ritual purposes in the Yucatán, Panama, the southern Caribbean, and Columbia at the time of the Conquest.[101] Archaeological remains of peccaries have been found in Mesoamerica from the Preclassic (or Formative) period up until immediately before Spanish contact.[102] Specifically, peccary remains have been found at Early Formative Olmec civilization sites,[103] which civilization Mormon apologists correlate to the Book of Mormon Jaredites.
Barley and wheat
"Barley" is mentioned three times and "wheat" once in the Book of Mormon narrative with the ground being "tilled" to plant barley and wheat at one geographical location, in the 1st and 2nd century BC according to Book of Mormon chronology.[104] The introduction of domesticated modern barley and wheat to the New World was made by Europeans after 1492.[105] The Book of Mormon claims that non-specific "seeds" were brought from the land of Jerusalem and planted on arrival in the New World and produced a successful yield.[106] To date, the existing evidence suggests that the introduction of Old World flora and fauna to the American continent happened during the Columbian exchange.[107]
Silk
The Book of Mormon mentions the use of "silk" in the New World four times.[108] "Silk" ordinarily refers to material that is created from the cocoon of one of several Asian moths, predominantly Bombyx mori; this type of silk was unknown in pre-Columbian America.
Mormon scholar John L. Sorenson documents several materials which were used in Mesoamerica to make fine cloth equivalent to silk, some of which the Spanish actually called "silk" upon their arrival, including the fiber (kapok) from the seed pods of the ceiba tree, the cocoons of wild moths, the fibers of silkgrass (Achmea magdalenae), the leaves of the wild pineapple plant, and the fine hair of the underbelly of rabbits.[109] He alleges that the inhabitants of Mexico used the fiber spun by a wild silkworm to create a fabric.[110]
The
Old World artifacts and products
Chariots or wheeled vehicles
The Book of Mormon contains two accounts of "chariots" being used in the New World.[114]
There is no archaeological evidence of
Many regions, such as the Andes and Mesoamerica are not suitable for wheeled transport. Although the Incas used a
Iron and steel
"Steel" and "iron" are mentioned several times in the Book of Mormon.[116] A bow constructed from steel is described as being used in the Old World, however the necessary spring steel was not invented until the 18th century. [117]
The Book of Mormon also makes numerous references to swords made in the New World, and their use in battle.[118] When the remnants of the Jaredites' final battle were discovered, the Book of Mormon narrative states that some swords were collected and "the hilts thereof have perished, and the blades thereof were cankered with rust."[119] No evidence of Pre-Columbian iron smelting has ever been found anywhere in the Western Hemisphere and all examples of iron artifacts are fabricated from meteoric iron.
Some limited metalworking was independently discovered by ancient American cultures, however. The Old Copper cultures around the Great Lakes are among the oldest metal-workers in human history due the region containing the world's largest native copper deposit.[120] Starting 8000 years ago, these peoples extracted and cold-worked native copper into a vast array of tools.[121] By 3000 years ago, most tools were no longer produced from copper due to the superior properties of stone tools,[122] though awls continued to be produced and used for thousands more years.[123] Due to the abundance of high quality stone and copper, the Great Lakes cultures never had a need to develop smelting or alloying. Not surprisingly due to the material properties of pure copper, bladed tools were rare, though a few examples have been recovered on Isle Royale and around Lake Superior.[124] Copper mined around Lake Superior was traded extensively and as a result can be found in Pre-Columbian sites all across North America.[125][126]
Mesoamerican cultures began extracting copper ore and smelting it 1400 years ago, including independently discovering the lost-wax casting method. Starting 800 years ago, these cultures experimented with alloying copper, gold, and silver. Nearly all examples of metalworking from this region are ornamental prestige pieces. All iron artifacts were prestige objects that were cold-worked from meteoric iron and were formed into mirrors, beads, hammers, and possibly magnetic compasses.
The Inca Empire independently discovered how to smelt and alloy copper into bronze, which it worked into a wide range of tools, including bolas, plumb bobs, chisels, gravers, pry bars, tweezers, needles, plates, fish hooks, spatulas, ladles, knives (tumi), bells, breastplates, lime spoons, mace heads, ear spools, bowls, cloak pins (tupus), axes, and foot plow adzes. Additionally, South American cultures regularly worked gold and other precious metals.
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.[127] 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.[128]
After it became clear that no Pre-Columbian iron or bronze swords existed, some apologists in the 1990s [129] began to argue that the references to swords may instead refer to a number of weapons such as the macuahuitl, a war club lined with obsidian blades that was used by the Aztecs.[130]
Cimeters
"Cimeters" are mentioned in eight instances in the Book of Mormon stretching from approximately 500 BC to 51 BC.[131] Critics argue this existed hundreds of years before the term "scimitar" was coined. The word "cimiter" 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.[132] The word 'cimeterre' is found in the 1661 English dictionary Glossographia and is defined as "a crooked sword" and was part of the English language at the time that the Book of Mormon was translated.[133] In the 7th century, scimitars generally first appeared among the Turko- Mongol nomads of Central Asia however a notable exception was the sickle sword of ancient Egypt known as the khopesh[134] which was used from 3000 BC and is found on the Rosetta Stone dated to 196 BC. Eannatum, the king of Lagash, is shown on a Sumerian stele from 2500 BC equipped with a sickle sword.[135]
Apologists Michael R. Ash and
System of exchange based on measures of grain using precious metals as a standard
The Book of Mormon details a
Knowledge of Hebrew and Egyptian languages
Fifteen examples of distinct scripts have been identified in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, many from a single inscription.[140] While Maya contains cartouches and is a form of hieroglyphic script like Egyptian, no further resemblance to Hebrew or Egyptian hieroglyphs has been identified. Additionally, professional linguists and Egyptologists do not consider the Caractors document to contain any legitimate ancient writing. Edward H. Ashment called the characters of the transcript "hieroglyphics of the Micmac Indians of northeastern North America".[141]
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."[142]
Linguistic studies on the evolution of the spoken languages of the Americas agree with the widely held model that
Systems of measuring time (calendars)
Most North American tribes relied upon a calendar of 13 months, relating to the annual 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.[143]
One of the more distinctive features shared among pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations is the use of an extensive
Latter-day Saints and Book of Mormon archaeology
Early activities
In the early 1840s, John Lloyd Stephens' two-volume work Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas, and Yucatan was seen by some church members as an essential guide to the ruins of Book of Mormon cities. In the fall of 1842, an article appearing in the church's Times and Seasons alleged that the ruins of Quiriguá, discovered by Stephens, may be the very ruins of Zarahemla or some other Book of Mormon city.[147] Other articles followed, including one published shortly after the death of Joseph Smith. Every Latter Day Saint was encouraged to read Stephens' book and to regard the stone ruins described in it as relating to the Book of Mormon.[148] It is now believed that these Central American ruins date more recent than Book of Mormon times.[149]
In recent years, there have been differing views among Book of Mormon scholars, particularly between the scholars and the "hobbyists".[150]
New World Archaeological Foundation
From the mid-1950s onwards, New World Archaeological Foundation (NWAF), based out of Brigham Young University, has sponsored archaeological excavations in Mesoamerica, with a focus on the Mesoamerican time period known as the Preclassic (earlier than c. AD 200).[151] The results of these and other investigations, while producing valuable archaeological data, have not led to any widespread acceptance by non-Mormon archaeologists of the Book of Mormon account. In 1973, 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,
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.[152]
In 1955, Thomas Stuart Ferguson, an attorney and the founder of the NWAF, received five years of funding from the LDS Church and the NWAF then 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. The NWAF became part of BYU in 1961 and Ferguson was removed from the director position.
Eleven years after Ferguson was no longer affiliated with the NWAF, in 1972 Christian scholar Hal Hougey wrote Ferguson questioning the progress given the stated timetable in which the cities would be found.[153] Replying to Hougey, as well as other 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."[153]
In 1976, fifteen years removed from any archaeological involvement with the NWAF, 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-archaeology. I should say—what is in the ground will never conform to what is in the book.[154]
Though the NWAF failed to establish a common belief of a specific Book of Mormon geographic location, 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.[152] Currently BYU maintains 86 documents on the work of the NWAF at the BYU NWAF website;[155] these documents are used outside both BYU and the LDS Church by researchers.
Modern approach and conclusions
There is a broad consensus among archaeologists that the archaeological record does not substantiate the Book of Mormon account, and in most ways directly contradicts it.[156][157]
An example of the mainstream archaeological opinion of Mormon archaeology is summarized by historian and journalist Hampton Sides:
Yale's 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".[158]
Organizational statements regarding the Book of Mormon
National Geographic Society
The Institute for Religious Research posted on its website a 1998 letter from National Geographic Society that stated that the Society was unaware of any archaeological evidence that would support the Book of Mormon.[159]
LDS Church
The Gospel Topics essays section of the official website of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has two essays titled "Book of Mormon and DNA Studies"[160] and "Book of Mormon Translation".[161] In them, the church affirms the literal historicity of the Book of Mormon. In the essay on DNA studies, the church argues for "a more careful approach to the data," and states that "much work remains to be done to fully understand the origins of the native populations of the Americas." Meanwhile, in the essay on the Book of Mormon's translation, the church affirms that "the Book of Mormon came into the world through a series of miraculous events."
Mormon cultural belief regarding Book of Mormon archaeology
Existing ancient records of the New World
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."[142]
Losses of ancient writings occurred in the Old World, including as a result of deliberate or accidental fires, wars, earthquakes, and floods. 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.[162] Mormon apologist Michael Coe therefore argues that our knowledge and understanding of the Maya is too fragmentary and incomplete to rule out the Book of Mormon narrative conclusively.[163]
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).[164] 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.[165] None of these inscriptions have been correlated with events, places, or rulers of Book of Mormon.[166]
Efforts to correlate artifacts
Izapa Stela 5
In the early 1950s, M. Wells Jakeman of the BYU Department of Archaeology suggested that a complicated scene carved on Stela 5 in Izapa was a depiction of a Book of Mormon event called "Lehi's dream", which features a vision of the tree of life.[167] This interpretation is disputed by other Mormon and non-Mormon scholars.[168] 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".[169]
Other artifacts
Sorenson claims that one artifact, La Venta Stela 3, depicts a person with Semitic features ("striking beard and beaked nose").[170] Mormon researchers such as Robin Heyworth have claimed that Copan Stela B depicts elephants;[171][172] others such as Alfred M Tozzer and Glover M Allen claim it depicts macaws.[173][174]
See also
Latter-day Saints portal
- Proposed Book of Mormon geographical setting
- Historicity of the Book of Mormon
- Biblical archaeology
- Criticism of Mormonism
- Khirbet Beit Lei
- Los Lunas Decalogue Stone
- Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact
- Burrows Cave
- Indigenous peoples of the Americas
Notes
- ^ Abanes 2003, pp. 74–77
- ^ Wolverton 2004, pp. 84–85
- ^ Persuitte 2000, p. 102
- ^ "Does Archaeology Support The Book Of Mormon?". Mormons in Transition web site. Institute for Religious Research. Retrieved February 10, 2010.
- ^ Priddis 1975; see RLDS D&C 110:20 Archived 2018-09-29 at the Wayback Machine, were advanced by RLDS members: Hills 1917; Hills 1918; Hills 1924, and Gunsolley 1922
- ^ Coe 1973, pp. 41–42: "Let me now state uncategorically that 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"
- ^ "National Geographic Society Statement on the Book of Mormon". August 12, 1998. Letter from Julie Crain addressed to Luke Wilson of the Institute for Religious Research.
- ^ Pringle, Heather (March 8, 2017). "What Happens When an Archaeologist Challenges Mainstream Scientific Thinking?". Smithsonian.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-317-34244-1.
- ^ Zimmer, Carl (January 3, 2018). "In the Bones of a Buried Child, Signs of a Massive Human Migration to the Americas". The New York Times. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
- S2CID 4454580.
- S2CID 247052631.
- ^ a b Null (2022-06-27). "Peopling of the Americas". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
- ISBN 978-0-19-538011-8.
- PMID 35442993.
- ^ a b c Yasinski, Emma (2022-05-02). "New Evidence Complicates the Story of the Peopling of the Americas". The Scientist Magazine. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
- S2CID 220697089.
- S2CID 220715918.
- S2CID 220717778.
- OCLC 1031966951.
- OCLC 1238190784.
- OCLC 1102541304.
- ISBN 978-1-315-50987-7.
- ^ Baisas, Laura (November 16, 2022). "Scientists still are figuring out how to age the ancient footprints in White Sands National Park". Popular Science. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
- .
- S2CID 239853925.
- ISBN 978-0-8153-0725-9.
- ^ Kaplan, Sarah (October 24, 2018). "Continent's oldest spear points provide new clues about the first Americans". Washington Post.
- ISBN 978-0-465-07669-7.
- No Man Knows My History: The Life of Joseph Smith(rev. ed., New York: Knopf, 1971) p. 36.
- "The aboriginal New World did not have wheat, barley, cows, oxen..."
- "No Native Americans made grape wine or wheat bread..."
- "The Jaredites and Nephites are portrayed as having plow agriculture and wheat and barley" [...] "but nothing remotely resembling this kind of culture has ever been found, either archaeologically or ethnographically, in the aboriginal New World."
Borah (1943:102—14) proposed that indigenous weavers began to use wild silk only after sericulture, brought from Europe, began to wane. However, a document dating from 1777 describes the excavation of a Pre-columbian burial in which textiles of wild silk, cotton, and feathers were found
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (linkReferences
- ISBN 978-1-56858-283-2.
- Adams, William J. (1994). "Lehi's Jerusalem and Writing on Metal Plates". from the original on 1 March 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-18.
- Allen, Joseph L (2003). Sacred Sites: Searching for Book of Mormon Lands. Covenant Communications.
- Aston, Warren P. and Michaela Knoth (1994). In the Footsteps of Lehi: New Evidence for Lehi's Journey across Arabia to Bountiful. Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book.
- Aston, Warren (1997). "Review of "Discovering Lehi: New Evidence of Lehi and Nephi in Arabia"" (PDF). Review of Books on the Book of Mormon. 9 (1). Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute. Archived from the original on 22 June 2013. Retrieved 2007-02-22.
- Bennett, Robert R. (August 2000). Barley and Wheat in the Book of Mormon. Provo, Utah: Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship. Archived from the original on 2008-09-18. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
- S2CID 254206026.
- Berrett, William E.; Hunter, Milton R. (1938). A Guide to the Study of the Book of Mormon. Salt Lake City: Department of Education of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. p. 53.
- from the original on 20 February 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-23.
- ISBN 978-0-500-28066-9.
- Coe, Michael D. (Summer 1973). "Mormons and Archaeology: An Outside View". Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. Vol. 8, no. 2. pp. 40–48.
- Chadwick, Jeffery R (2005). "The Wrong Place for Lehi's Trail and the Valley of Lemuel". Journal of Book of Mormon Studies. 17 (2). Archived from the original on 8 December 2006. Retrieved 2007-01-08.
- S2CID 164577751. Retrieved 2014-09-29.
- Diamond, Jared (1999). Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. New York, London: W. W. Norton and Company.
- Faust, James E. (November 1983). "The Keystone of Our Religion". Ensign. Retrieved 2007-07-06.
- Fagundes, Nelson J.R.; Kanitz, Ricardo; Eckert, Roberta; Valls, Ana C.S.; Bogo, Mauricio R.; Salzano, Francisco M.; Smith, David Glenn; Silva, Wilson A.; Zago, Marco A.; Ribeiro-dos-Santos, Andrea K.; Santos, Sidney E.B.; Petzl-Erler, Maria Luiza; Bonatto, Sandro L. (2008). "Mitochondrial Population Genomics Supports a Single Pre-Clovis Origin with a Coastal Route for the Peopling of the Americas" (PDF). American Journal of Human Genetics. 82 (3): 583–592. PMID 18313026. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2009-03-25. Retrieved 2009-11-19.
- Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (FAIR). Archived(PDF) from the original on 8 January 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-09.
- ISBN 978-0-19-513818-4.
- Guernsey, Julia (2006). Ritual and Power in Stone: The Performance of Rulership in Mesoamerican Izapan Style Art. Austin, Texas: ISBN 978-0-292-71323-9.
- Gunsolley, J.F. (1922). "More Comment on Book of Mormon Geography". Saints Herald: 1074–1076.
- ISBN 978-0-941214-71-1.
- Hills, Louis Edward (1917). Geography of Mexico and Central America from 2234 BC to 421 AD. Independence, Missouri.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Hills, Louis Edward (1918). A Short Work on the Popol Vuh and the Traditional History of the Ancient Americans by Ixt-lil-xochitl. Independence, MO.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Hills, Louis Edward (1924). New Light on American Archaeology:God's Plan for the Americas. Independence, Missouri: Lambert Moon.
- ISBN 978-1-55517-257-2.
- Jakeman, M. Wells (1953). "An Unusual Tree-of-Life Sculpture from Ancient Central America". University Archaeological Society Newsletter: 26–49.
- Deseret Book. Archived from the originalon 2008-11-20.
- ISBN 978-0-385-50951-0.
- Kennedy, Roger G. (1994). Hidden Cities: The Discovery and Loss of Ancient North American Civilization. pp. 228–231.
- Kettunen, Harri; Helmke, Christophe (2005). Introduction to Maya Hieroglyphs (PDF). Wayeb and Leiden University. p. 6.
- Larson, Stan (Spring 1990). "The Odyssey of Thomas Stuart Ferguson". Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. Vol. 23, no. 1. pp. 55–93.
- Nibley, Hugh W. (1980). The Book of Mormon and the Ruins: The Main Issues. Provo, Utah: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies.
- Nibley, Hugh W. (1988). An Approach to the Book of Mormon. Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book.
- Nibley, Hugh (1988b). Since Cumorah. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book and FARMS.
- ISBN 978-0-7864-0826-9.
- Potter, George (1999). "A New Candidate in Arabia for the "Valley of Lemuel"". Journal of Book of Mormon Studies. 8 (1): 54–63. S2CID 164424783. Archived from the originalon 2006-05-05. Retrieved 2007-01-09.
- Potter, George; Wellington, Richard (2004). Lehi in the Wilderness: 81 New Documented Evidences That the Book of Mormon Is a True History. Springville, Utah: Cedar Fort, Inc. ISBN 978-1-55517-641-9..
- Roberts, B. H. (1992). Brigham D. Madsen (ed.). Studies of the Book of Mormon (second ed.). Salt Lake City: Signature Books.
- Roper, Matthew (2004). "Limited Geography and the Book of Mormon: Historical Antecedents and Early Interpretations". FARMS Review. 16 (2): 225–76. S2CID 164527895. Archived from the originalon 11 February 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-23.
- Priddis, Venice (1975). The Book and the Map. Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft, Inc.
- Silverberg, Robert (June 1969). "And the mound-builders vanished from the earth". American Heritage Magazine. 20 (4).
- Smith, James E. (1997). ISBN 978-0-934893--25-1. Archived from the originalon 2008-02-15. Retrieved 2007-03-26.
- Smithsonian Institution (1996). A letter that was sent to one inquiring party, obtained by the Institute of Religious Research. Smithsonian Institution.
- Smith, G. Elliot (February 1925). "Elephants and Ethnologists". S2CID 4094950.
- Sorenson, John L. (September 1984a). "Digging into the Book of Mormon: Our Changing Understanding of Ancient America and Its Scripture (Part 1)". Ensign. Retrieved 2007-07-06.
- Sorenson, John L. (October 1984b). "Digging into the Book of Mormon: Our Changing Understanding of Ancient America and Its Scripture (Part 2)". Ensign. Retrieved 2007-07-06.
- ISBN 978-0-87747-608-5.
- Sorenson, John L. (1990). "The Mulekites". BYU Studies. 30 (3): 12. Archived from the original on 2006-09-06. Retrieved 2006-12-11.
- S2CID 55878207. Retrieved 2007-01-19.
- ISBN 978-1-56085-181-3.
- Squier, Ephraim George(1849). "Aboriginal Monuments of the State of New York". Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge. 2.
- Utah Lighthouse Ministry.
- Tanner, Jerald; Tanner, Sandra (1996). Answering Mormon Scholars: A Response to Criticism Raised by Mormon Defenders. Salt Lake City, Utah: Utah Lighthouse Ministry.
- Tozzer, Alfred M.; Allen, Glover M. (August 14, 2006). Animal Figures in the Maya Codices. Project Gutenberg (e-book).
- Wolverton, Susan (2004). Having Visions: The Book of Mormon: Translated and Exposed in Plain English. Algora. ISBN 978-0-87586-310-8.
Further reading
- S2CID 133116819, archived from the originalon 2014-09-27, retrieved 2014-09-29
- King, David S. (Spring 1991), "'Proving' the Book of Mormon: Archaeology Vs. Faith", Dialogue, 24 (1): 143–146.
- S2CID 254216836.
- Wade, Lizzie (2018-01-18). "How a Mormon lawyer transformed archaeology in Mexico—and ended up losing his faith". Science. ISSN 0036-8075. Retrieved 2018-01-20.
| History | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Method and theory | |||||||||
| Sub-disciplines |
| ||||||||
| Lists | |||||||||
