Archaeology and the Book of Mormon

Since the introduction of the Book of Mormon in 1830, both Mormon and non-Mormon archaeologists have studied its claims in reference to known archaeological evidence. Latter Day Saints generally believe that the Book of Mormon describes ancient historical events in the Americas. Mainstream historians and archaeologists do not regard the Book of Mormon as a work of ancient American history.

The Book of Mormon describes three heavily populated, literate, advanced civilizations in the Americas. The book primarily deals with the Nephites and the Lamanites, who it claims existed in the Americas from about 600 BC to AD 400. It also deals with the rise and fall of the Jaredite nation, which the Book of Mormon claims came from the Old World shortly after the fall of the Tower of Babel. The book portrays the Jaredites as a group who migrated across many waters and arrived in the Americas during the lifetime of Jared where they proceeded to become a great nation. The book does not indicate the precise timing of the Jaredites rise and fall other than the fathers of the nation started their migration from the Old World around the time of the Tower of Babel, and that the last survivor of the civilization, Coriantumr, was discovered in the New World by the Mulekites. Literalist biblical scholars date the Tower of Babel time period to between 3100 BC and 2200 BC, and according to the Book of Mormon the Mulekites are another group of people that came out of Jerusalem around 600 BC. The Mulekites joined themselves with the Nephites between 279 and 130 BC., but the record of the Jaredites was not discovered until around 121 BC., by Lehi's posterity.

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 following: ass, cow, horses, ox, domesticated sheep, swine, goats, elephants, wheat, barley, silk, steel, swords, scimitars, chariots and other elements.

Scientists note that genetic studies show that Amerind genes are mostly though not entirely of Asiatic origin, which appears to conflict with the Book of Mormon account of their ancestry. LDS deal with the genetics problem in a variety of ways. See Genetics and the Book of Mormon.

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-Columbian civilizations, technologies, movements, and history have been established. These include the Formative Mesoamerican 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. Others relate Book of Mormon civilizations to the mound builder peoples of North America. The Book of Mormon is classed in the 19th century "Mound-builder" literary genre.

19th century, archaeological finds indicating the “Mound-builder” literary setting for the Book of Mormon (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. This evidence is viewed by mainstream scholars as merely evincing the work's authentic literary setting within the 19th century “Mound-builder” genre. The situation is similar with archaeological evidence supporting the Bible’s literary setting. Secular and religious biblical scholars generally agree on the Bible's setting (including its geography), while disagreeing on the extent of its historicity.

Archaeologist Salvatore M. Trento (Director of the Middletown Archaeological Research Center in New York) summarizes the finds and history culminating in the Book of Mormon’s literary setting:

The Book of Mormon tells the tale of ancient settlers who came from Jerusalem to America. Around 600 B.C., the prophet Lehi led a tribe of Israelites to the New World, where they established an advanced civilization. There were a series of wars and cultural upheavals over the next several generations. In 421 A.D., the Nephites, descendents of the original settlers, were wiped out by the Lamanites, a dark-skinned people who supposedly were ancestors of the American Indians.

This is an astonishing tale that fits in very well with the general outlook in the early 1800s on the American wilderness. As American settlers pushed west into New York State and into the Ohio River Valley, they actually did see evidence of an ancient civilization – although not one from Jerusalem. These people saw giant earthworks, massive burial mounds, and stone forts sitting above streams and rivers. These structures, now believed to have been constructed by an early American Indian people collectively called the Mound Builders, were thought to be definitive evidence of an ancient white race.

The general theory of the time was that the Indians had killed off this sophisticated white race. The Book of Mormon describes this myth in great detail. The point here is that most of the mounds were constructed by American Indians and not by immigrants from Jerusalem – but early settlers and antiquarians didn’t know that. Two things spoke of ancient contact: the similarity of the mounds to those in prehistoric Europe, and the “fact” that the contemporary Indians knew nothing about the earthworks.

The Kincaid Site, a "Mound Builder" settlement of earth, timber and plaster-like cement, found in southern Illinois

Organizational statements regarding the Book of Mormon

Smithsonian Institution

The Smithsonian Institution issued an official statement in 1996 and again in 1998 that it considered the Book of Mormon to be "a religious document and not a scientific guide," and that it "has found no archaeological evidence to support [the book's] claims."

During the early 1980s, reports circulated in LDS culture that the Book of Mormon was being used by the Smithsonian to guide primary archaeological research. This rumor was brought to the attention of Smithsonian directors who, in 1996, sent a form letter to inquiring parties stating that the Smithsonian did not use the Book of Mormon to guide any research, and included a list of specific reasons Smithsonian archaeologists considered the Book of Mormon historically unlikely. 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.

National Geographic Society

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

Anachronisms and archaeological findings

See also: Book of Mormon anachronisms

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 some archaeologists believe did not exist in the Americas during this time period.

LDS scholars and apologists respond to the anachronisms in several ways. One frequent argument is that words chosen by Joseph Smith in the Book of Mormon may have been Old World designations for different New World items.

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

A tapir - Some Mormon apologists believe that the word "horse" in the Book of Mormon refers to a tapir in order to explain the anachronism.

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.

See also: Quaternary extinction event

Mormon apologist John L. Sorenson at FARMS claims that there is fossil evidence that some New World horses may have survived the Pleistocene–Holocene transition, though these findings are disputed by mainstream archaeologists.

Mormon apologist Robert R. Bennett believes that the word "horse" in the Book of Mormon does not refer to the species of horse that modern people are familiar with (Equus caballus), and may refer to animals such as the tapir. He states, "It is ... possible that some Book of Mormon peoples coming from the Old World may have decided to call some New World animal species a "horse" or an "ass." Another LDS apologist notes that horses are featured in 19th century "Mound-Builder" fiction as existing on the American continent prior to the European arrival. It is argued that given the Old Testament references to “horses” in the Book of Mormon, and Nephi’s familiarity with the animal, that it is unlikely he would have misidentified the creature.

Elephants

Mastodons existed in the Americas, but are known to have gone extinct by 10,000 B.C.

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. It is known that a small population of mammoths survived on St. Paul Island, Alaska, up until 3700 BC, which is before the time when some think the Book of Mormon describes elephants in the Book of Ether.

See also: New World Pleistocene Extinctions

Apologists deal with the “elephant” in much the same way as they treat the “horse” anachronism; countering with the following arguments:

1. Despite the indications of the archaeological record,some mammoths and mastodons must have survived to a time when they could have been observed by the Jaredites. It is hoped that mainstream archaeology will eventually vindicate this position.
2. The word "elephant" chosen by Joseph Smith actually refers to another animal that existed around 2500 BC. Some LDS object to this argument.

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

Llamas are known to be the only large mammal to have been domesticated in the Americas.

There are six references to cattle made in the Book of Mormon, including verbiage suggesting they were domesticated. 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.

Apologists point out that the term "cattle," as used in the Book of Mormon and the Bible, 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). This last candidate, 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.

According to the Book of Mormon, varieties of "cattle" could be found in ancient America. Without these the Nephites could not have kept the Law of Moses as directed. However, 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. Apologists counter that the wording in the Book of Mormon does not require the "cattle" to have been domesticated in the strictest sense.

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” (~ AD 21) Domestic sheep were first introduced to the Americas during the second voyage of Columbus.

One apologist claims that sheep wool has been found in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica Big horn sheep are native to North America. Some suggest that the word "sheep" may refer to another species of animal that resembled sheep. Others point out that camel-like animals, such as llamas, are unclean according to Israelite law, and are not acceptable for food or for sacrifice.

Goats

Brocket deer - Some LDS apologists believe that "goat" in the Book of Mormon refers to brocket deer in order to explain the apparent anachronism.

Goats are mentioned three times in the Book of Mormon placing them among the Nephites and the Jaredites. 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 were 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 archeological evidence that it was ever domesticated.

Matthew Roper, a FARMS writer, discussed the topic of goats in "Deer as 'Goat' and Pre-Columbian Domesticate." He noted that when early Spanish explorers visited the southeastern United States they found Native Americans herding tame deer. Quoting an early historian of Spain, Peter Martyr d'Anghiera recorded:

"In all these regions they visited, the Spaniards noticed herds of deer similar to our herds of cattle. These deer bring forth and nourish their young in the houses of the natives. During the daytime they wander freely through the woods in search of their food, and in the evening they come back to their little ones, who have been cared for, allowing themselves to be shut up in the courtyards and even to be milked, when they have suckled their fawns. The only milk the natives know is that of the does, from which they make cheese."

Mr Roper also noted early Spanish colonists called native Mesoamerican brocket deer goats. He quotes, "Friar Diego de Landa noted, 'There are wild goats which the Indians call yuc." He quoted another friar in the late 16th century, "in Yucatán 'there are in that province ... great numbers of deer, and small goats'".

Swine

The Book of Mormon mirrors two Biblical passages involving swine, and mentions them once in the narrative itself. While this last citation suggests that the swine were domesticated, 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.

Apologists note that Peccaries (also known as Javelinas), which bear a superficial resemblance to pigs, have been present in South America since prehistoric times. LDS authors have similarly suggested North American peccaries (also called “wild pigs”) as the “swine” of the Jaredites.

Critics rebut that there is no archeological evidence that peccaries have ever been domesticated. It is not inconceivable, however, that captured peccaries held in captivity for food or for trade could explain their being listed with Jaredite varieties of cattle. The Book of Mormon does not specifically say the “swine” were domesticated, only that the non-Israelite Jaredites saw “swine” as “useful for the food of man.”

Barley and wheat

Wheat was domesticated in the Old World and was introduced on the American continent by Europeans.

"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 (outside of quotes from the Bible) 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.

FARMS apologist Robert Bennett offered two possible explanations for this anachronism:

1. The terms "barley" and "wheat" may actually be referring to other crops in the Americas. To this end, Bennett claims that other crops were given Old World designations by the arriving Spanish.
2. The terms may refer to genuine varieties of New World barley and wheat, which are as yet undiscovered in the archaeological record.

Bennett postulates that references to "barley" could refer to Hordeum pusillum, also known as "Little Barley," a species of edible grass native to the Americas which was part of the Pre-Columbian Eastern Agricultural Complex. Hordeum pusillum was unknown in Mesoamerica, where there is no evidence of pre-Columbian barley cultivation, but evidence exists that this plant was domesticated in North America in the Woodland periods contemporary with mound builder societies (early centuries AD). He states that this information “should caution readers of the Book of Mormon not to quickly dismiss references to pre-Columbian wheat as anachronistic.”.

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" that Joseph Smith 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.

Chariots or wheeled vehicles

Chariots depicted in a Mesopotamian relief circa 2500 B.C. Evidence of chariots or wheeled vehicles has not been found in the Americas.

The Book of Mormon mentions the use of chariots as an ancient New World mode of transportation five times.

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:

"...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), 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 apologists have pointed to the discovery of wheeled toys left in tombs. Referencing the discovery of wheeled chariot "toys" in Mayan funerary settings, Mormon scholar William J. Hamblin has suggested that the chariots mentioned in the Book of Mormon might refer to mythic or cultic wheeled vehicles. However, several researchers, including W. H. Holmes of the Bureau of American Ethnology suspect that the toys were introduced into the tombs after the arrival of Europeans on the continent. He stated:

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

One LDS researcher responds to the lack of evidence with a comparison to Biblical archaeology, suggesting that though there are no archaeological evidences that any of the numerous ancient American civilizations used wheeled transportation, few chariot fragments have been found in the Middle East dating to Biblical times. (apart from the disassembled chariots found in Tutankhamun's tomb) 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 frescoes 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.

Finally, some apologists counter that the debate is immaterial, as the Hebrew word for "chariot" may refer to wheeled or non-wheeled. It is noted that mound builder rulers rode upon litters.

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 evidence of cement being used in the ancient Americas around the times of Christ. 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”. One LDS apologist asks,

“Are we to believe that Moroni packed the plates …and some Mesoamerican cement, thousands of miles, to the Finger Lakes region? Or are we to suppose that he set up a small cement making operation after finally arriving? Isn’t it more likely that he used cement already available and processed (not necessarily by himself) near his northern American homeland?”

Given the 19th century usage of the word “cement”, Olive, May ,Coon and other LDS, conclude that North American mound builder constructions using plaster like cement (e.g. wattle and daub) qualify as “houses of cement”.

A wattle and daub house used by American Indians during the Mississippian period.

Iron and steel

Aztec warriors brandishing maquahuitl, which are made of stone. From the 16th century Florentine Codex, Vol. IX.

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 and 800 years after the 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). It is has been shown that metal working among North American mound builder societies consisted of hammering and shaping metal found in nature. Some curious artifacts of alloyed copper have been found in North America – one article dating to 1800 BC.

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:

"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. Additionally, one LDS writer claims that the order in which the word "steel" is presented in the Book of Mormon (“steel” is listed after “copper” and “brass”, and not immediately following “iron”) would make it more likely that the word "steel" does not refer to an alloy of iron, but to hardened copper. It is pointed out that copper and its alloys have the ability to rust, thus satisfying the description of “blades” which had “cankered with rust”. It is known that ancient mound building cultures of North American worked copper, silver, gold and meteoric iron.

Metal swords, which had "rusted"

The Book of Mormon makes numerous references to swords 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. Others note that archaic hardened copper blades and projectile points have been unearthed in North America. Swords, including the curved bladed falchion and cutlass, are related to alleged artifacts featured in the 19th century literary genre discussing the “Mound-builders”.

Cimiters

Cimiters are mentioned about ten times in the Book of Mormon. 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, including Michael R. Ash and William Hamblin, note that the Book of Mormon does not mention the materials that the "cimiters" were made out of. They 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 measures used by the Nephite society. Coon cites Josiah Priest’s American Antiquities regarding possible mound builder “money” in the form of “rings”. However, the overall use of metal in ancient America seems to have been extremely limited. A more common exchange medium in Mesoamerica were cacao beans.

Silk

The Book of Mormon mentions the use of silk 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.

Latter-day Saint scholar John Sorenson believes that there are several materials which were used in Mesoamerica which the Spanish called "silk" upon their arrival. He alleges that the inhabitants of Mexico used the wild silk spun by a wild silkworm to create a fabric.

LDS apologist Vincent Coon believes that the word "silk" may refer to a fine fabric made of plant fiber, based on comparing the wording in the Book of Mormon with the Hebrew to English translation of the word for “silk” in the King James Version of the Bible. The Book of Mormon plates were ostensibly engraved with a writing system (Reformed Egyptian) that was more compressed than written Hebrew (a language known to the Nephites). Coon suggests that the spoken Nephite language was Hebrew based, and that this was “the manner of speech” associated with the highly compressed writing on the plates. These engravings included extensive recitations of Hebrew scripture. Coon maintains that the translation of the Nephite plates into the terminology of the King James Bible was deliberate.

Knowledge of Hebrew and Egyptian languages

The "Anthon Transcript", which shows characters transcribed from the Golden Plates (the source of the Book of Mormon). These characters are ostensibly from an unknown language called Reformed Egyptian.

The Book of Mormon describes more than one literate people inhabiting ancient America. The Nephite people are described as processing a language and writing with roots in Hebrew and Egyptian. While Native American oral tradition maintains the existence of some form of pre-Columbian writing among certain North American tribes, archaeological evidence shows that the only people known to have developed written languages in America were the Olmecs and Mayans, whose written languages have no resemblance to Hebrew and only superficially resemble Egyptian hieroglyphs.

The Smithsonian Institute 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 arrived on the American continent about 2,500 BC (the presumed time period of the biblical Tower of Babel).

See also: Linguistics and the Book of Mormon

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 region, and that evidence of the knowledge of Hebrew or Egyptian is too sparse to be found. While LDS scripture does not explicitly state that Book of Mormon immigrants were the first postdiluvian people to inhabit the American continent, critics note that this has in fact been a common Mormon presumption in the past. A previous preface to the Book of Mormon (not part of the original text) seems to have been influenced by this tradition.

See also: Limited Geography Model (Book of Mormon)

One LDS researcher believes that the "Anthon Transcript" (an early transcript of characters from the Book of Mormon) seems to resemble some characters in Micmac hieroglyphs This is disputed by Klaus Baer, Egyptologist at the University of Chicago, who called the characters of the transcript nothing but "doodlings". Non LDS archaeologist Salvatore M. Trento, on the other hand, gives numerous examples of North American inscriptions (Mi'kmaq hieroglyphic writing etc.) and draws a parallel with characters reportedly copied from the Book of Mormon plates. Discounting visions and the appearance of angels, Trento posits:

Did Smith actually find tablets engraved with weird markings in a buried cavern? He probably did. The “buried cavern” he describes sounds suspiciously like an underground stone chamber, typical of those found on hilltops throughout the Northeast. There are dozens of reports over the past two hundred years of farmers finding buried stones with inscriptions. The metal nature of the tablets does leave some concern. While I doubt they were really gold they very well could have been made from polished copper. Were they left by one of the “lost” tribes of Israel? Probably not, but, intriguingly, in other parts of eastern America, some unknown group of people left slabs of stone etched with a script used in ancient Mediterranean countries.

Compass

The Book of Mormon also states that a "compass" was used by Nephi around 600 BC. The compass is widely recognized to have been invented in China around 1100 AD and remains of a compass have never been found in America.

Apologists counter that according to the narrative, the “compass” (the Liahona) used by Nephi was divinely bestowed, and did not originate with Lehi or his son Nephi. There is no indication in the Book of Mormon that the Liahona was copied or used by the Nephite civilization for anything other than a sacred relic, and as such archaeological evidence of compasses may not exist in the Americas. Based on this theory, Joseph Smith would have chosen the word "compass" in his translation of the gold plates as a best fit for the concept of an instrument that gives directions, and as such it is not necessarily an anachronism. One apologist, however, notes the existence of a Hebrew term translated “compass”, which means a “circle”, “vault” or “dome”. It is suggested that this term appropriately describes the divine, directing “ball”.

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. See Chronology of the Bible) 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.

Apologists note that the Hebrew word "chalon," translated "window" in Genesis 8:6 in the Bible, refers to an opening or porthole that was covered, but by what is not specified. It is not specifically stated that the window referred to in the Book of Mormon was an opening covered by a transparent material. LDS Apologists argue that the word "window" simply parallels the language of the familiar King James Bible. They claim that a wooden or other covering might have been "dashed in pieces" by the "mountain waves" that would "dash upon" them and that even a thick glass casting would not have provided constant light to the interior of the vessels. Additionally, one LDS apologist notes that mound builder (people) of North America skillfully worked “isinglass” (clear mica membranes).

LDS efforts to establish Book of Mormon archaeology

Early attempts

Commencing in the early 1840s, Latter Day Saints sought to support the Book of Mormon with John Lloyd Stephens’ bestseller Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas, and Yucatan. Stephens’ two volume work was promoted by 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." It should be noted, however, that even with LDS methods becoming more erudite, the Central American Zarahemla tradition, which is not clearly based on LDS scripture, continues as a major LDS paradigm.

New World Archaeological Foundation

From the mid-1950s onwards, the Church-owned Brigham Young University has sponsored (under the banner of the New World Archaeological Foundation, or NWAF) a large number of archaeological excavations in Mesoamerica, with a focus on the Mesoamerican time period known as the Preclassic (earlier than c. AD 200). 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, writes, "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". They have, however, led to increased respect for LDS archaeological efforts in the field.

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, 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 entitled Written Symposium on Book-of-Mormon Geography: Response of Thomas S. Ferguson to the Norman & Sorenson Papers 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 referring to his own paper, Ferguson wrote a 20 February 1976 letter to Mr & Mrs H.W. Lawrence 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. Professor 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.”

It is historically evident that early members of the LDS Church regarded mound builder artifacts as evidence in support of the Book of Mormon.

The archaeological investigations of NWAF-sponsored projects have contributed towards the documentation and understanding of pre-Columbian societies, particularly in Mesoamerica. 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.

Modern approach and conclusions

Several candidates considered likely by LDS researchers have been proposed for the Middle Eastern sites mentioned in the Book of Mormon. However, fewer distinct landmarks are agreed upon relative to the Book of Mormon’s American setting. LDS scholars, for instance, readily accept traditional biblical sites (e.g. “Carmel”), but there are those who are unwilling to accept the only New World Book of Mormon landmark addressed in LDS scripture, “Cumorah”, because it does not fit the popular Mesoamerican model. Not accepting this landmark makes LDS study in the Western Hemisphere less definite—without a single fixed reference. Because of confusion brought about by attempts to establish a New World archaeology, most Mormon scholars now take a different approach: analyze archaeological findings for parallels and correlations with information found in the Book of Mormon. Although LDS scholars have found no indisputable proof of the book's historicity, they have accumulated a large amount of research which they use to support their conclusions. However, many unanswered questions still remain.

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

LDS cultural belief regarding Book of Mormon archaeology

Traditional views of New World population

Most members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints accept the historicity of the Book of Mormon claim that ancient Israelites traveled to the Americas. Some church members believe that the three groups mentioned in the Book of Mormon exclusively populated an empty North and South American Continent. This belief was held by several early members of the church and has persisted to some extent to the present. This view was incorporated by Orson Pratt into his footnotes for the 1879 edition of the Book of Mormon. This view implies an essentially empty America into which the first of the three migrants, the Jaredites, came after leaving the Tower of Babel. However, the LDS Church never gave an official interpretation of the Book of Mormon geography, and the geographical footnotes were removed from the 1920 and all subsequent editions of the Book of Mormon. Beginning in the early 20th century, the traditional claim that the migrations described in the Book of Mormon were the means by which the Western Hemisphere was populated became less prevalent. Whereas early members of the church had used the terms "Lamanite" and "Indian" interchangeably, a 1938 church study guide asserted that "all the Book of Mormon text requires" is a "Hebrew origin for at least a part of Indian ancestry". In the mid-20th century Mormon scholar Hugh Nibley proposed that all pre-Columbian remains need not belong to Book of Mormon people and that the notion that the "only people permitted in the hemisphere before Columbus were either descendants of Lehi or of Jared and his brother" was incorrect. John Sorenson demonstrated that the change from the traditional Mormon teaching to the more limited geographical interpretation continued to make headway and that the majority of Mormon authors had come to believe in the new limited geographic interpretation by the mid-20th century.

LDS academic views of New World population

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

• In 1927, Janne M. Sjödahl stated that "students of the Book of Mormon should be cautioned against the error of supposing that all the American Indians are the descendants of Lehi, Mulek and their companions."
• In 1938 a church study guide for the Book of Mormon stated that "the Book of Mormon deals only with the history and expansion of three small colonies which came to America, and it does not deny or disprove the possibility of other immigrations, which probably would be unknown to its writers."
• From 1952 onward, LDS scholar Hugh Nibley repeatedly argued that the assumption that there were no other people present in the New World at the time of Lehi's arrival might be incorrect.
• In 1980 Nibley, referring to archaeological evidence, stated that the assumption of an empty New World represented a "simplistic reading" of the Book of Mormon. By the middle of the 20th century, most LDS authors held the belief that the Book of Mormon events took place within a limited region in Mesoamerica and that others were present on the continent at the time of Lehi's arrival.
• This geographical and population model was formally published in the official church magazine, The Ensign, in September 1984 and was followed by a book on the subject by LDS anthropologist John L. Sorenson in 1985.

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 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):

“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.”

One LDS writer points out that archaeological proof of large ancient populations in Central America is not sufficient grounds for establishing the Book of Mormon’s New World setting there. No one disputes that there were many people in Central America anciently. There is, however, no strong evidence for the existence in Central America of a large population matching the description of Nephite civilization. “Mesoamerican settings are not more favorable towards the Book of Mormon demographically, than Joseph Smith’s American Israelite setting among the mound builders.”

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 was destroyed during the Spanish 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, 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. Another LDS writer has examined in detail the same Mesoamerican legends and concludes that they evince a migration from Book of Mormon lands in “northern American”, and do not support a Mesoamerican setting for the Book of Mormon.

Joseph Smith's statements regarding Book of Mormon geography

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

On the shores of the Mississippi, some miles below Lake Pipin, on a fine plain, exists an artificial elevation of about four feet high, extending a full miles, in somewhat of a circular form. It is sufficiently capacious to have covered 5000 men. Every angle of the breastwork is yet traceable, though much defaced by time. Here, it is likely, conflicting realms as great as those of the ancient Greeks and Persians, decided the fate of ambitious Monarchs, of the Chinese, Mongol descent.

Weapons of brass have been found in many parts of America, as in the Canadas, Florida, &c., with curiously sculptured stones, all of which go to prove that this country was once peoples with civilized, industrious nations...

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

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

Joseph Smith associates earth, timber and metal works found in northern America (presumably artifacts of mound builder societies) with implements and constructions described in the Book of Mormon. As much as Joseph Smith approved of Stephens’ work, he only makes minor mention of it, and then only to conclude in his “American Antiquities” editorial, that the peoples of Central America are tied historically to the Book of Mormon. Regarding the peoples of Central America, Joseph Smith's exact words are,

Stephens and Catherwood's researches in Central America abundantly testify of this thing. The stupendous ruins, the elegant sculpture, and the magnificence of the ruins of Guatemala, and other cities, corroborate this statement, and show that a great and mighty people-men of great minds, clear intellect, bright genius, and comprehensive designs inhabited this continent. Their ruins speak of their greatness; the Book of Mormen [Mormon] unfolds their history.-ED.

Smith does not actually say that Book of Mormon lands are to be found in Central America. This assertion came later in several unsigned newspaper articles, published in the fall of 1842. The use of first person plural (“we” and “us”) indicates that the articles may have been a collaborative effort. A recent “word-print” stylometry study of the unsigned articles reports they contain Joseph Smith’s vocabulary and average sentence lengths. One LDS apologist, however, argues that the statistical word-print analysis cannot identify everything that was edited in the articles and by whom. Without an endorsing signature we cannot tell the extent to which Joseph Smith agreed with opinions expressed in the unsigned articles.

In the March, 15, 1842 edition of the Times and Seasons, editor Joseph Smith informed readers, that he would endorse papers with his signature. Coon argues that the unsigned, 1842 articles contradict. One of the unsigned articles in question mentions “Joseph Smith” in the third person. This same article alleges that Lehi “landed a little south of the Isthmus of Darien” which would place Lehi’s landing on a western shore of South America. The 1842 Times and Seasons editorials, written by Joseph Smith, are readily identified as they end with his “ED”. Joseph Smith had found it necessary to go into hiding for much of the fall that year. Though he was still official editor of the Times and Seasons, it is doubtful that he was acting editor at the time in as much as he was keeping a low public profile and had been in hiding as Doctrine and Covenants 127:1 and 128:1 attest. LDS Church History Scholars believe that John Taylor may have served as “the acting editor for the Times and Seasons” in Joseph's absence. In November 1842, Joseph Smith officially resigned as editor, explaining that, “The multiplicity of other business that daily devolves upon me, renders it impossible for me to do justice to a paper so widely circulated as the Times and Seasons.” John Taylor was then made official editor of the newspaper.

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

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

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

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

On June 4, 1834, during the Zion's Camp trek through Illinois, Joseph Smith stated that the group was "wandering over the plains of the Nephites, recounting occasionally the history of the Book of Mormon, roving over the mounds of that once beloved people of the Lord, picking up their skulls & their bones, as proof of its divine authenticity..." Joseph Smith came to believe that the Maya ruins on the Yucatán Peninsula discovered in the late 1830s, offered evidence in support of the Book of Mormon's authenticity. A more recent inclusion in History of the Church proclaims the ruins were likely Nephite or belonging to “the ancient inhabitants of America treated of in the Book of Mormon”. In view of the position that ancient peoples migrated from the north into Mexico and Central America, the linking of Mesoamerican artifacts with “ancient inhabitants ...of ...the Book of Mormon” is not inconsistent with Joseph Smith's statements placing Book of Mormon lands in northern America. The History of the Church statement was inserted under the date June 25, 1842 and is not taken from any holograph writing of Joseph Smith's or records kept by his clerks. The date, in fact, is only a few weeks prior to the publication of the AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES editorial, citing northern American evidence of Book of Mormon history. The inclusion in History of the Church reads as follows:

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

Stephens brought to New York hundreds of artifacts from Mayan sites. Among these were sculptures and architectural remnants. Shortly after arriving in New York, most of these relics were lost when the building that housed them was destroyed by fire.

According to Mormon 6:5, Nephite civilization came to an end near the year 384 AD. Copan, Quirigua, and sites in the Yucatan visited by Stephens and Catherwood, contain artifacts that date more recent than Book of Mormon times. It has not been shown that any of Stephens’ artifacts date to Book of Mormon times, and Joseph Smith does not actually make this assertion.

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

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

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

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

Proposed Book of Mormon geographical setting

Main article: Proposed Book of Mormon geographical setting

As with Bible studies, considerable effort in Book of Mormon studies has been focused on establishing a credible real world setting for the narrative. The Book of Mormon narrative begins at Jerusalem and follows a route along the borders of the Red Sea, then eastward across the Arabian Peninsula. Joseph Smith said he acquired the Book of Mormon in the state of New York. Between these two bookends, the setting for the main Book of Mormon narrative (and the sub-narrative of the Jaredites as told in the Book of Ether) is contested among LDS. There are two major divisions of Book of Mormon archaeology: The Old World and the New World.

Old World setting

Lehi Trail

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

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

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

Lehi's Arabian journey

The Book of Mormon describes a 600 BC journey of two families from Jerusalem along the east side of the Red Sea, then east across the Arabian Peninsula from 600 BC to 592 BC. The details and locations encountered on this journey are very clearly described in the text. Through most of the 20th century, no information was available to confirm the narrative of an encampment at a continually running stream (River of Laman) in a valley (of Lemuel) at the "fount of the Red Sea," of a burial at a place "called Nahom," of a "Bountiful" place on the east side of the Arabian Peninsula where multiple narrative details occur, or of any other detail of Lehi's Arabian journey. In the late 20th and the early 21st centuries, LDS researchers have located plausible candidates for each of these places that they believe correlate with the route of Lehi's journey. Field studies and research on these and other locations related to this subject are ongoing.

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

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

People of Lehi

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

Valley of Lemuel, River of Laman

The Wadi Tayyib al-Ism, 115 km (72 miles) by trail from Aqaba, is considered to be a plausible location for the River of Laman by some LDS researchers. Another LDS researcher, citing problems with the proposed Wadi Tayyib al-Ism location, indicates that there are a number of other sites along the Gulf of Eilat's eastern shoreline that meet the requirements for this location, such as one of the wadis near the shore at Bir Marsha.

Nahom

Main article: Nahom

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

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

Bountiful

Main article: Bountiful (Book of Mormon)

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

New World setting

Map showing the possible lands and sites of the Book of Mormon in Mesoamerica

Map showing possible lands and sites of the Book of Mormon near the alleged scriptural Cumorah

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

Hemispheric Geography Model

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

Limited Geography Model

Main article: Limited Geography Model (Book of Mormon)

The Limited Geography Model, proposed by RLDS scholars in the early 20th century, and later formally proposed by LDS scholars states that the text of the Book of Mormon narrative itself supports a limited region only hundreds of miles in dimension and that other people were present in the New World at the time of Lehi's arrival. One book compiled by prominent Mormon scholar John Sorenson has more than 400 pages of possible location theories placing Book of Mormon events everywhere from the Finger Lakes region of the Northeast United States to Chile. The fact remains that aside from the Finger Lakes location of Cumorah (disregarded by some) there are no landmarks defined in LDS scripture, that will unambiguously identify New World Book of Mormon places.

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

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

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

More localized, Non-hemispheric settings for the Book of Mormon have been proposed since the early days of the Church. In the late 1830s some Latter-day Saints placed the southern most Nephite land of Manti in the United States. After 1841, not heeding John Lloyd Stephens’ own conclusion that the Central American stone ruins which he and Frederick Catherwood documented were more recent - not of “great antiquity”, Elder John E. Page nevertheless tried to correlate Book of Mormon cites and events with these Mesoamerican sites. Apostle Page’s North and Central American scenarios were considerably more localized than the hemispheric settings proposed by Apostles Orson and Parley Pratt, his contemporaries Geographically limited settings for the Book of Mormon have been suggested by other church leaders, including B. H. Roberts. Except for an obligatory and not so geographically limited journey to the Finger Lakes region of North American, alleged to have been undertaken by the Nephite prophet Moroni, the first “completely limited” Mexican / Mesoamerican setting for the Book of Mormon was advanced by RLDS member Louis Edwards Hills in 1917

Scholar and author Venice Priddis speculated that the geographical setting of the Book of Mormon could be in South America. Her research pointed out many flaws with the Central American theory and others. Author Phyllis Carol Olive cogently defends a truly limited geography setting based on scriptural Cumorah of the Finger Lakes

Alternative settings

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

Efforts to correlate Book of Mormon cultures with New World cultures

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

The Jaredites and the Olmec

See also: Olmec alternative origin speculations

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 Olmec civilization, though archaeological evidence supporting this theory is disputed and circumstantial. Others conclude that the Book of Mormon Jaredites represent an earlier mound builder culture of the Great Lakes region.

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).

The Lamanites, Nephites and The Maya

No strong evidence exists connecting the Maya with either the Lamanites or Nephites of the Book of Mormon. Establishing connections between ruins of the Mayan civilization (for example, Quirigua, Kaminaljuyu, and Tikal in Guatemala, and Copán in Honduras, and Palenque in Mexico) and the cities and civilizations mentioned in the Book of Mormon has been difficult for LDS scholars on a number of fronts. Perhaps the most significant issue is the dating. By Old-World standards, the Mayan ruins are relatively recent; conventional archaeology places the pinnacle of Mayan civilization several centuries after the final events in the Book of Mormon supposedly occurred.

A standard construction practice employed by the Maya was to build new structures on top of older structures. Many older structures are either contained within or their rubble is buried under the structures which were built later. LDS efforts to relate anachronistic Mayan ruins to Book of Mormon cities, however, owes much of its origins to an infatuation with Stephens’ and Catherwood’s discoveries of Mesoamerican ruins, made public more than a decade after the first publication of the Book of Mormon. Stephens made clear his own opinion that the ruins which he and Catherwood came upon, were not of any “great antiquity”. Many enthusiastic LDS either ignored or overlooked this fact.

More than one LDS researcher has pointed out the anachronism and cultural inconsistency of the popular LDS painting depicting “Christ in America” - assuming the work is intended to represent a scene from the Book of Mormon. The painting features the Mayan pyramid of Kukulcan (at Chichen Itza) in the background, ostensibly posing as the Book of Mormon temple in “the land Bountiful”. “Those who look into the subject”, writes one author, “…find that Chichen Itza was a place of untold acts of human sacrifice. Perhaps the painting can be interpreted to represent a visit by Quetzalcoatl to the Yucatan peninsula in the 12th century A.D. or later, but a scene from the Book of Mormon it definitely is not.” The impressive stone complex at Chichen Itza stands in stark contrast to the Israelite prohibition against making hewn-stone altars with steps.

The Nephites

No Central or South American civilization is recognized by academia to correlate with the Nephites of the Book of Mormon. The academically accepted literary setting for the Book of Mormon relates to the “mythic mound builders” of North America. 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. According to LDS scripture, events surrounding the Book of Mormon occurred anciently in the Great Lakes region. The Golden Plates were reported to have been found near this general area. LDS scripture indicates that the voice of the Nephite dead effectively spoke from the dust coincident with the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. It is indicated that the ground upon which Joseph Smith dictated the Book of Mormon record is the same which the saints of the Book of Mormon possessed in life. Numerous aboriginal fortresses of earth and timber were known to have existed in this region.

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 Torah 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.

The earliest temporal system maintained by the Nephite people is clearly Israelite. This is implied in the fact that they “did observe to keep the judgments, and the statutes, and the commandments of the Lord in all things, according to the Law of Moses.” This would have required observing mandatory Israelite festivals and ordinances at particular seasons according to the calendar which Israel accepted as divinely appointed. The Hebrew calendar is essentially a lunar calendar which tracks temperate seasons in the Northern Hemisphere by allowing a 13th month to be inserted as a leap month when needed.

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.

It is significant that Mesoamerica experiences two seasons each year - a "wet" and a "dry season". The Book of Mormon seems to indicate a year in the American Promised Land consisting of more than two seasons, naturally distinguished by weather or climate. As one LDS author points out, this is consistent with the seasonal requirements of the Law of Moses and the placing of Lehi’s covenant land in temperate “northern America” (above and including Jerusalem’s latitude). “In this chosen land it would be possible to keep the “ordinance in his season” as commanded; unlike temperate South America which is seasonally out of phase with Israel, and unlike Central America which experiences a tropical dry season when Israel commemorates their springtime deliverance.” Coon points out that Nephite and Biblical Israelite months (prior to the Babylonian captivity) are similarly numbered, and that the first month of the year in both instances, corresponds to the springtime season of Passover. The first new moon following a critical stage of barley maturation called “the aviv”, designated without undue sophistication, the first of the Nephite / Israelite year.

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 calendars are widely regarded as the most intricate and complex among them) reflected the vigesimal (base 20) numeral system and other numbers, such as 13 and 9.

Warfare

LDS scholar Hugh Nibley stated that approximately one-third of the content of the Book of Mormon deals with matters related to warfare Some LDS researchers suggest that the Book of Mormon's account of large-scale warfare has been confirmed by findings in ancient Mesoamerica. Hugh Nibley, on the other hand drew attention to mound builder works of North America as “an excellent description of Book of Mormon strong places”.

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 berms 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.

Efforts to correlate ruins and artifacts

Artifacts

Izapa Stela 5

Main article: Izapa Stela 5

In the early 1950s, M. Wells Jakeman of the BYU Department of Archaeology suggested that a complicated scene carved on Stela 5 in Izapa was a depiction of a Book of Mormon event called Lehi's dream, which features a vision of the tree of life. 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

Main article: Golden plates

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

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. Adams 1994, pp. 204–206

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

References

• Abanes, Richard (2003). One Nation Under Gods: A History of the Mormon Church. Thunder's Mouth Press. ISBN 1568582838. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Adams, William J. (1994). "Lehi's Jerusalem and Writing on Metal Plates". Journal of Book of Mormon Studies. 3 (1). Maxwell Institute. Retrieved 2007-01-18. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Allen, Joseph L (2003). Sacred Sites: Searching for Book of Mormon Lands. Covenant Communications. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• 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. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Bennett, Robert R. (August 2000). Barley and Wheat in the Book of Mormon. Provo, Utah: Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Berrett, LaMar C (1999). "New Light: The So-Called Lehi Cave". Journal of Book of Mormon Studies. 8 (1). Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute: 64–5.
• Clark, John E. (1999). "A New Artistic Rendering of Izapa Stela 5: A Step toward Improved Interpretation". Journal of Book of Mormon Studies. 8 (1). Maxwell Institute: 22–33. Retrieved 2007-01-23. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Coe, Michael (2002). The Maya (6 ed.). New York: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-28066-5. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Coe, Michael D. (Summer 1973). "Mormons and Archaeology: An Outside View". Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. {{cite news}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Diamond, Jared (1999). Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. New York, London: W. W. Norton and Company. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Faust, James E. (November 1983). "The Keystone of Our Religion". Ensign. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Retrieved 2007-07-06.
• Gardner, Brant (N.D.). Too Good to be True: Questionable Archaeology and the Book of Mormon (PDF). Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (FAIR). Retrieved 2007-01-09. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |year= (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
• Givens, Terryl L (2002). By the Hand of Mormon: The American Scripture That Launched a New World Religion. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-513818-X. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Guernsey, Julia (2006) Ritual and Power in Stone: The Performance of Rulership in Mesoamerican Izapan Style Art, University of Texas Press, Austin, Texas, ISBN 978-0-292-71323-9.
• Guernsey Kappelman, Julia; Izapa (Precolumbian Art and Art History)", accessed December 2007.
• Hill, Marvin S (1995). The Essential Joseph Smith. Salt Lake City: Signature Books. ISBN 0-941214-71-0. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Hilton, Lynn M; Hilton, Hope A (1996). Discovering Lehi: New Evidence of Lehi and Nephi in Arabia. Springville, Utah: Cedar Fort, Inc. ISBN 1-55517-257-1. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Jessee, Dean C (1984). The Personal Writings of Joseph Smith. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Krakauer, Jon (2003). Under the Banner of Heaven. Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-50951-0.
• Larson, Stan (Spring 1990). "The Odyssey of Thomas Stuart Ferguson". Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. {{cite news}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Nibley, Hugh W. (1980). The Book of Mormon and the Ruins: The Main Issues. Provo, Utah: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Olive, Phyllis C. (2000). The Lost Lands of the Book of Mormon. Springville, Utah: Bonneville Books. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Persuitte, David (2000). Joseph Smith and the Origins of the Book of Mormon (2nd ed.). McFarland & Company. ISBN 078640826X. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Roberts, Brigham Henry (1992). Brigham D. Madsen (ed.). Studies of the Book of Mormon (second ed.). Salt Lake City: Signature Books. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Smith, James E (1997). Noel B. Reynolds (ed.). How Many Nephites? The Book of Mormon at the Bar of Demography. Provo, Utah: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies. ISBN 0-934893--25-X. {{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help); Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Smithsonian Institution (1996). A letter that was sent to one inquiring party, obtained by the Institute of Religious Research. Smithsonian Institution.
• Smith, G. Elliot; Smith, G. Elliot (February 1925). "Elephants and Ethnologists". The Geographical Journal. 65 (2). The Geographical Journal, Vol. 65, No. 2: 173–174. doi:10.2307/1782265. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Sorenson, John L (September 1984). "Digging into the Book of Mormon: Our Changing Understanding of Ancient America and Its Scripture (Part 1)". Ensign. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Retrieved 2007-07-06. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Sorenson, John L (October 1984). "Digging into the Book of Mormon: Our Changing Understanding of Ancient America and Its Scripture (Part 2)". Ensign. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Retrieved 2007-07-06. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link) CS1 maint: year (link)
• Sorenson, John L (1985). An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon. Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book and FARMS. ISBN 0-87747-608-X. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Sorenson, John (1990). "The Mulekites". BYU Studies. 30 (3): 12. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Sorenson, John L (1992). "When Lehi's Party Arrived in the Land, Did They Find Others There?". Journal of Book of Mormon Studies. 1 (1). Maxwell Institute. Retrieved 2007-01-19.
• Southerton, Simon G (2004). Losing a Lost Tribe: Native Americans, DNA and the Mormon Church. Salt Lake City: Signature Books. ISBN 1-56085-181-3. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Tanner, Jerald; Tanner, Sandra (1969). Archaeology and the Book of Mormon. 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). {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Wolverton, Susan (2004). Having Visions: The Book of Mormon: Translated and Exposed in Plain English. Algora. ISBN 0875863108. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

External links

• (Pro) http://www.nephiproject.com/nephi_project_major_discoveries.htm
• (Pro) http://www.weaverresearch.org/bompaper.htm
• (Pro) http://farms.byu.edu/publications/bookofmormonview.php?subcat=100&cat=1
• (Pro) http://www.jefflindsay.com/LDSFAQ/DNA.shtml
• (Pro) http://www.lds.org/newsroom/mistakes/0,15331,3885-1-18078,00.html
• (Pro) http://jefflindsay.com/BMEvidences.shtml
• (Pro) http://www2.ida.net/graphics/shirtail/keystone.htm
• (Pro) http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/pdf.php?filename=MTQwNTUyMzg2LTEyLTIucGRm&type=amJtcw==
• (Neutral) Larson, Stan, The Odyssey of Thomas Stuart Ferguson. Dialogue 23 (1) Spring 1990: 55-93.
• (Neutral) King, David S, "Proving" the Book of Mormon: Archaeology Vs. Faith., Dialogue 24 (1) Spring 1991: 143-146.
• (Con) Coe, Michael, "Mormons and Archeology - An Outside View", Dialogue, Summer, 1973.
• (Con) http://www.religioustolerance.org/lds_migr1.htm
• (Con) 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 [8]
• An Approach to the Book of Mormon Geography, 2009