Book of Mormon anachronisms
Encyclopedia
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 known linguistic patterns, archaeological findings, or known historical events.
Each of the anachronisms is a word, phrase, artifact, or other concept that critics, historians, archaeologists, or linguists believe did not exist in the Americas during this time period.
LDS scholars and apologists respond to the anachronisms in several ways.
The list below summarizes the most prominent and problematic anachronisms in the Book of Mormon, as well as perspectives by Mormon apologists, and rebuttals.
, the Book of Mormon was originally engraved on golden plates
, which he received in 1827 from an angel named Moroni, whom Smith identified as a resurrected native American
. Joseph Smith claimed to translate the original text into English, from what he said was "Reformed Egyptian
". The Book itself was published in 1830.
The Book of Mormon is claimed to represent the history of some part of the Americas, and its inhabitants, from c. 2500 BC to 400 AD, thus putting it clearly into the Pre-Columbian era
.
Critics claim that its origin lies firmly in the 19th century, and that Joseph Smith created the book with the resources available to him, including the King James Version of the Bible.
Unlike the Bible, no manuscripts in the supposed original language of the Book of Mormon are known to exist. No Reformed Egyptian manuscripts have ever been excavated by archaeologists.
died around 698 BC, under traditional biblical belief, there would be no conflict. However, recently, many Biblical scholars assert that these chapters were not written by Isaiah, but rather, by one or more other people during the Babylonian captivity
sometime between 586 and 538 BC (between 14 and 82 years after it could have been known to Lehi and his family).
civilization, with its first mention being taught by Nephi between 559 and 545 BC. However, baptism as a ritual as described in the Book of Mormon (i.e. as a one time cleansing ritual that also grants membership to the church) is widely believed to be unknown until its institution in early Christianity many hundreds of years after the practice was ostensibly taught and practiced as related in the Book of Mormon. The first mention of baptism in this form is by John the Baptist
. A similar incarnation of the practice of baptism was practiced by the Jewish group the Essenes
between the 2nd century BC and the first century AD.
. Horses did not reappear in the Americas until the Spaniards brought them from Europe. They were brought to the Caribbean
by Christopher Columbus
in 1493, and to the American continent by Cortés
in 1519.
Apologists assert that there is fossil evidence that some New World horses may have survived the Pleistocene
–Holocene
transition, though these findings are disputed by critics .
Others believe that the word "horse" in the Book of Mormon does not refer to members of the genus Equus
.
Mormon FARMS apologist Robert R. Bennett stated that as a comparison the famed horses of the Huns did not leave an archeological trace yet numbered in the thousands. He also points out the limited evidence of lions in Palestine:
Critics argue that this rebuttal is not applicable since pictographic and literary evidence of horses in the New World (outside of the Book of Mormon) is unknown .
Elephants are mentioned twice in a single verse in the Book of Ether
. Mastodons and mammoths lived during the Pleistocene
in the New World; however, as with the prehistoric horse, the fossil record indicates that they became extinct along with most of the megafauna
towards the end of the last Ice Age. 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 8,000 B.P., but even this date is thousands of years before the Jaredite record in the Book of Mormon begins.
The main point of contention is how late these animals were present before becoming extinct.
Various LDS authors have cited evidence that North American mound builder cultures were familiar with the elephant. The oldest mound builder societies date to around 2000 BC. The mound builder / elephant controversy did not originate with the Book of Mormon. In The Mound Builders, Their Works and Relics, author Stephen Dennison Peet cites instances of exhumed mastodon remains and arguments given for why the remains were believed to be contemporary with mound builders. Elephant effigy pipes, of the characteristic mound builder platform style, were reported as archaeological finds in Iowa, and many have readily identified the animal depicted in the shape of the Wisconsin “elephant mound”, though others question whether this is in fact the animal represented. The former Iowa state archaeologist Marshall McKusick discusses the evidence indicating that the elephant platform pipes are frauds in his book on the so-called Davenport Tablets
.
Critics note that the co-existence of man and elephantine animals is congruent with the archaeological record, but does not address the anachronism, since the dates of all elephantine remains have been placed well before their mention in the Book of Mormon.
There are instances of stories preserved orally by Native Americans which some LDS scholars believe may describe elephants. One such story is related by the Naskapi
Indian Tribe, located in eastern Quebec
and the Labrador
region of Canada. The story concerns a monster from the Naskapi tradition called Katcheetohuskw, which is described as being very large, with large ears, teeth and a long nose. Similar versions of "monster" legends related by other tribes refer to a monster called Ursida, which is described as more of a large, stiff-legged bear rather than a mammoth. The story of the "monster bear" is considered by some scholars to be purely mythical. Delaware and other native American legends of the “mastodon” are likewise said to exist
) inhabited the New World prior to European contact in the sixteenth century AD.
Apologists argue that the term "cattle" may be more generic that suggesting members of the genus Bos
, and may have referred to bison
, mountain goats, llamas, or other American species. According to the Book of Mormon, varieties of "cattle" (including goats and sheep) could be found in ancient America. Without these the Nephites could not have kept the Law of Moses, as directed
LDS Apologists note that the word "cattle" may refer to the ancestor of the American bison
, Bison antiquus
(of the sub family Bovinae
). Bison antiquus
, sometimes called the ancient bison, was the most common large herbivore
of the North American continent for over ten thousand years, and is a direct ancestor of the living American bison.
However, no species of bison is known to have been domesticated as the "cattle" in the Book of Mormon are suggested to have been. Furthermore, it is widely accepted that the only large mammal to be domesticated in the Americas was the llama
; no species of goats, deer, sheep, or other "cattle" 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.
Domesticated goats are not native to the Americas, having been domesticated in pre-historic times on the Eurasian continent. Domestic goats were introduced on the American continent upon the arrival of the Europeans in the 15th century, 1000 years after the conclusion of the Book of Mormon, and nearly 2000 years after they are last mentioned in the Book of Mormon. The mountain goat
is indigenous to North America, but it has never been domesticated, and is known for being very aggressive.
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:
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 are referred to twice in the Book of Mormon, and the narrative of the Book of Mormon 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 advocating the original mound builder setting for the Book of Mormon have similarly suggested North American peccaries (also called “wild pigs”) as the “swine” of the Jaredites.
Critics rebut that peccaries have never been domesticated.
It should also be noted that the Lehites, who entered the New World as observant Jews, would not have taken unclean animals onboard their ships, let alone bred them.
Grains are mentioned twenty-eight times in the Book of Mormon, including barley
and wheat
. The introduction of domesticated modern barley and wheat to the New World was made by Europeans sometime 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:
Apologist Robert R. Bennett of FARMS postulates that references to "barley" could refer to Hordeum pusillum
, also known as "Little Barley", a species of grass native to the Americas. The seeds are edible, and this plant was part of the Pre-Columbian Eastern Agricultural Complex
of cultivated plants used by Native Americans. 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.”.
Critics rebut these claims, rejecting 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 cultivation of Hordeum pusillum in North America, and the arrival of the Norse.
In Ether 2:3, it says that the Jaredite
s
Jeff Lindsay
counters this by quoting Alexander von Humboldt
's Political Essay on the Kingdom of New Spain:
In addition, the Mayans used Melipona beecheii, a stingless bee
, for honey, but this is not the same as the true honey bee
, which is of the genus apis.
In 3 Nephi 14:16, Jesus, reprising his Sermon on the Mount
says:
However, critics dispute the existence of figs in the pre-Columbian Americas.
The Book of Mormon mentions the use of chariots as a mode of transportation five times. There is no archaeological evidence to support the use of wheeled vehicles in Mesoamerica. Many parts of ancient Mesoamerica were not suitable for wheeled transport. Clark Wissler
, the Curator of Ethnography
at the American Museum of Natural History
in New York City, noted:
A comparison of the South American Inca civilization to Mesoamerican civilizations shows the same lack of wheeled vehicles. Although the Incas used a vast network of paved roads (see Inca road system
), these roads are so rough, steep and narrow that they appear to be unsuitable for wheeled use. Bridges that the Inca people built, and even continue to use and maintain today in some remote areas, are straw-rope bridges so narrow (about 2–3 feet wide) that no wheeled vehicle can fit (see image and technology at Inca rope bridges). Inca roads were used mainly by chaski
message runners and llama
caravans.
Some apologists have pointed to the discovery of wheeled toys left in tombs. 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:
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
). 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 complete absence of these images among the hundreds of frescoes, hundreds of thousands of pieces of decorated pottery and pre-Columbian artwork found in the New World does not support the existence of Old World style chariots in the New World.
Referencing the discovery of wheeled chariot "toys" in Mayan
funerary settings, Mormon scholar William J. Hamblin
has suggested that the chariots mentioned in the Book of Mormon might refer to mythic or cultic wheeled vehicles.
The Book of Mormon mentions the use of silk
six times. Silk is a material that is created from the cocoon of the Asian moth Bombyx mori
, and was unknown to the pre-Columbian Americas.
Mormon scholar John L. 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 fiber spun by a wild silkworm to create a fabric.
" or "Liahona" 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. In the Book of Alma
when Alma
, speaking to his son Helaman
, explains "our fathers called it Liahona, which is, being interpreted, a compass" . Alma tells his son that “it is as easy to give heed to the word of Christ ... to eternal bliss, as it was for our fathers to give heed to this compass ... to the promised land“ .
Apologists counter that the compass used by Nephi (the Liahona) was, according to the narrative, created by God himself, and not by the Nephites. Also, unlike a normal compass, the Book of Mormon says that there was also writing on the ball that displayed additional instructions from God
. Apologists claim that it is possible that the compass used by the Nephites was not copied or used by the civilization, 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 golden plates
as a best fit for the concept of the compass, and as such it is not necessarily an anachronism.
), 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. Transparent window panes are a more recent invention. The earliest known production of glass dates to 3500 BC. in Egypt and Mesopotamia, though the specimens are non-transparent 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 "חַלּוֹן" ("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.
" (meaning a by-product of smelting) appears twice in the Book of Alma
too; according to Brent Lee Metcalfe:
The Book of Mosiah
also mentions "ziff" as a metal, but it is not clear what this is supposed to mean.
and iron
are mentioned several times in the Book of Mormon. There is no evidence of steel (hardened iron) production in North, Central, or South America.
Between 2004 and 2007, a Purdue University
archaeologist, Kevin J. Vaughn, discovered a 2000 year old iron ore mine near Nazca
, Peru. The discovery demonstrated that iron was mined during the period of time covered in the Book of Mormon.
There are also numerous excavations that included iron ore. He noted:
Apologists counter that the word "steel" may be referring to another alloy of hardened metal such as the hardened copper alloy that is translated with the word "steel" in the King James Version of the Bible. This alloy is in fact a hardened copper similar to bronze and not hardened iron Though usually more resistant to oxidation than iron, hardened alloys of copper can oxidize. It is therefore not certain that the mention of “rust” is the same as iron oxide.
The Book of Mormon makes numerous references to swords
and their use in battle. When the remnants of the Jaredite's final battle were discovered, the Book of Mormon narrative states that "the blades thereof were cankered with rust."
Warriors in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica are known to have used wooden clubs with blade-like obsidian
flakes, which being stone cannot 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, this does not explain several references to swords that were explicitly made out of steel, and another metal that was capable of "rusting". Obsidian flakes on a Macuahuitl are not capable of rusting.
Some studies have shown that metallurgy did exist in a primitive state in Mesoamerica during the Preclassic/Formative and Classic periods (which corresponds to the time period in the Book of Mormon). These metals include brass, iron ore, copper, silver, and gold. However, the metals were never used to make swords; Vaughn noted:
"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 from), or any other civilization prior to 450 AD. As with swords, there is no evidence that native American peoples had metal blades.
The word cimiter (scimitar) has at different times referred to a long curved sword used by the Persians and Turks, or a smaller curved knife, similar to the kopis
of the Turks, or makhaira
of the Greeks.
Apologists, including Michael R. Ash
, and William Hamblin of FAIR
, note that the Book of Mormon does not mention the materials that the "cimiters" were made out of, and postulate that the word is was chosen by Joseph Smith as the closest workable English word for the weapon used by the Nephites that was not made of metal, and was short and curved.
used by the societies described therein. 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.
The Book of Mormon account refers to various groups of literate peoples, at least one of which is described as using a language and writing system with roots in Hebrew and Egyptian
. Archaeological evidence has been found for five or six different Mesoamerican scripts
, but archaeological dating methods make it difficult to establish which was earliest (and hence the forebear from which the others developed) and a significant portion of the documented scripts have not been deciphered. None of the documented Mesoamerican language
scripts have any known relation to Hebrew or Egyptian. The Book of Mormon describes another literate culture, the Jaredites, but does not identify the language or writing system by name. The text of the Book of Mormon refers only to a language used prior to the alleged confounding of languages at the great tower, presumed to refer to the Tower of Babel
.
Linguistic studies on the evolution of the spoken languages of the Americas agree with the widely held model that the initial colonization of the Americas by Homo sapiens occurred over 10,000 years ago instead of during the time frame given in the Book of Mormon.
Some apologists argue that the Book of Mormon does not describe all of the original settlers of the Americas, but rather a subset of the larger population, who settled in a limited geographical setting, and that evidence of the knowledge of Hebrew or Egyptian would be too sparse to be found. Critics note that this is not congruent with past church teachings, and the preface to past editions of the Book of Mormon.
" and "Messiah
" are used several hundred times throughout the Book of Mormon. The first instance of the word "Christ" dates to between 559 and 545 BC. The first instance of the word "Messiah" dates to about 600 BC.
"Christ" is the English transliteration of the Greek word Χριστός (transliterated precisely as Christós); it is relatively synonymous with the Hebrew word rendered "Messiah
." Both words have the meaning of "anointed," and are used in the Bible to refer to "the Anointed One". In Greek translations of the Old Testament (including the Septuagint), the word "Christ" is used for the Hebrew "Messiah", and in Hebrew translations of the New Testament, the word "Messiah" is used for the Greek "Christ". If you take any passage in the Bible that uses the word "Christ", you can substitute for it the word "Messiah" or "the Messiah" with no change in meaning (e.g. ).
The Book of Mormon uses both terms throughout the book. In the vast majority of cases, it uses the terms in an identical manner as the Bible, where it doesn't matter which word is used:
Apologists state that the original Reformed Egyptian text certainly used Hebrew forms of names and titles exclusively, but when translating Joseph Smith simply used whichever form of the name ("Christ" or "Messiah") was more appropriate in English.
The Book of Mormon occasionally uses the word "Christ" in a way that is not interchangeable with "Messiah". For example in , the Book of Mormon prophet
Jacob
says an angel informed him that the name of the Messiah would be Christ:
Richard Packham argues that the Greek word "Christ" in the Book of Mormon challenges the authenticity of the work since, Joseph Smith clearly stated that, "There was no Greek or Latin upon the plates from which I, through the grace of the Lord, translated the Book of Mormon."
Hugh Nibley postulated that the word Messiah could have been derived from Arabic rather than Hebrew, although Arabic is not mentioned as one of the languages in which the golden plates were written.
, "There was no Greek or Latin upon the plates from which I, through the grace of the Lord, translated the Book of Mormon." Nevertheless, the Book of Mormon contains some names which appear to be Greek
, some of which are Hellenization
s of Hebrew names (e.g. Antipas, Archeantus, Esrom, Ezias, Jonas, Judea, Lachoneus and Zenos).
Others are non-biblical and their presence in the book is puzzling to both believers and skeptics, since neither Smith nor the Nephites spoke Greek. One explanation has been offered by Brian D. Stubbs, who said that though the language of the Mulekites isn't put forward in the Book of Mormon, it could have consisted of Phoenician, Greek, or Arabic.
" first occurs in 1 Nephi 4:26, where a prophet named Nephi disguises himself as Laban, a prominent man in Jerusalem whom Nephi had slain:
According to the Book of Mormon
, this exchange happened in Jerusalem, around 600 BC. The meaning of the word "church
" in the Book of Mormon is more comparable to usage in the Bible
than Modern English. The concept of a church, meaning a convocation of believers, existed among the House of Israel
prior to Christianity. For instance, Psalms
speaks of praising the Lord "in the congregation of the saints"; the Septuagint contains the Greek word ecclesia for "congregation," which is also translated as "church" in the New Testament
. The Book of Mormon using the word "church" in the same "style" as the Bible is seen by some apologists as support for the Book of Mormon.
A similar question regards the word "synagogue
," found in Alma 16:13:
Scholars note that synagogues did not exist in their modern form before the destruction of the temple and the Babylonian captivity
. The oldest known synagogue is located in Delos, Greece has been dated to 150 BC.
and Marvin W. Cowan contend that certain linguistic properties of the Book of Mormon provide evidence that the book was fabricated by Joseph Smith.
These critics cite linguistic anachronisms such as:
word "adieu" appears once in the Book of Mormon in Jacob 7:27.
Supporters of the Book of Mormon refute this by stating that the text is a translation into a modern language (English), so the use of a French word is not amiss. For example, Daniel H. Ludlow
contends that the use of the French word "adieu", and others, may have been the result of Joseph Smith choosing the best word available to convey the meaning of the original text.
". Satyrs are creatures from Greek mythology
, which are half-man, half-goat. The King James Bible translates Isaiah 34:14 thus:
Other English-language versions of the Bible, including the New International Version
, translate the word שעיר (sa`iyr) as "wild goat", other translations include "monkey" and "dancing devil".
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...
that are considered anachronistic as their existence in the text of the Book of Mormon is at odds with known linguistic patterns, archaeological findings, or known historical events.
Each of the anachronisms is a word, phrase, artifact, or other concept that critics, historians, archaeologists, or linguists believe did not exist in the Americas during this time period.
LDS scholars and apologists respond to the anachronisms in several ways.
The list below summarizes the most prominent and problematic anachronisms in the Book of Mormon, as well as perspectives by Mormon apologists, and rebuttals.
Background
According to Joseph SmithJoseph Smith
Joseph Smith was founder of what later became known as the Latter Day Saint movement or Mormons.Joseph Smith may also refer to:-Latter Day Saints:* Joseph Smith, Sr. , father of Joseph Smith...
, the Book of Mormon was originally engraved on golden plates
Golden Plates
According to Latter Day Saint belief, the golden plates are the source from which Joseph Smith, Jr. translated the Book of Mormon, a sacred text of the faith...
, which he received in 1827 from an angel named Moroni, whom Smith identified as a resurrected native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
. Joseph Smith claimed to translate the original text into English, from what he said was "Reformed Egyptian
Reformed Egyptian
According to the Book of Mormon, that scripture of the Latter Day Saint movement was originally written in reformed Egyptian characters on plates of "ore" by prophets living in the Western Hemisphere from perhaps as early as 2600 BC until as late as AD 421. Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of the...
". The Book itself was published in 1830.
The Book of Mormon is claimed to represent the history of some part of the Americas, and its inhabitants, from c. 2500 BC to 400 AD, thus putting it clearly into the Pre-Columbian era
Pre-Columbian era
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
.
Critics claim that its origin lies firmly in the 19th century, and that Joseph Smith created the book with the resources available to him, including the King James Version of the Bible.
Unlike the Bible, no manuscripts in the supposed original language of the Book of Mormon are known to exist. No Reformed Egyptian manuscripts have ever been excavated by archaeologists.
Quoting Isaiah
Book of Mormon prophets in the Americas quote chapters 40 - 66 of the Book of Isaiah after having left the Jerusalem area around 600 BC. Since IsaiahIsaiah
Isaiah ; Greek: ', Ēsaïās ; "Yahu is salvation") was a prophet in the 8th-century BC Kingdom of Judah.Jews and Christians consider the Book of Isaiah a part of their Biblical canon; he is the first listed of the neviim akharonim, the later prophets. Many of the New Testament teachings of Jesus...
died around 698 BC, under traditional biblical belief, there would be no conflict. However, recently, many Biblical scholars assert that these chapters were not written by Isaiah, but rather, by one or more other people during the Babylonian captivity
Babylonian captivity
The Babylonian captivity was the period in Jewish history during which the Jews of the ancient Kingdom of Judah were captives in Babylon—conventionally 587–538 BCE....
sometime between 586 and 538 BC (between 14 and 82 years after it could have been known to Lehi and his family).
Baptism
Baptism is mentioned as a ritual that is taught and performed among the NephiteNephite
According to the Book of Mormon, a Nephite is a member of one of the four main groups of settlers of the ancient Americas. The other three groups are the Lamanites, Jaredites and Mulekites. In the Book of Mormon, the Nephites were a group of people descended from or associated with Nephi, the...
civilization, with its first mention being taught by Nephi between 559 and 545 BC. However, baptism as a ritual as described in the Book of Mormon (i.e. as a one time cleansing ritual that also grants membership to the church) is widely believed to be unknown until its institution in early Christianity many hundreds of years after the practice was ostensibly taught and practiced as related in the Book of Mormon. The first mention of baptism in this form is by John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
. A similar incarnation of the practice of baptism was practiced by the Jewish group the Essenes
Essenes
The Essenes were a Jewish sect that flourished from the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century CE which some scholars claim seceded from the Zadokite priests...
between the 2nd century BC and the first century AD.
Horses
Horses are mentioned fourteen times in the Book of Mormon, and are portrayed as an integral part of the cultures described. 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). Horses evolved in North America, but became extinct at the end of the PleistocenePleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
. Horses did not reappear in the Americas until the Spaniards brought them from Europe. They were brought to the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
by Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
in 1493, and to the American continent by Cortés
Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca was a Spanish Conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile in the early 16th century...
in 1519.
Apologists assert that there is fossil evidence that some New World horses may have survived the Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
–Holocene
Holocene
The Holocene is a geological epoch which began at the end of the Pleistocene and continues to the present. The Holocene is part of the Quaternary period. Its name comes from the Greek words and , meaning "entirely recent"...
transition, though these findings are disputed by critics .
Others believe that the word "horse" in the Book of Mormon does not refer to members of the genus Equus
Equus (genus)
Equus is a genus of animals in the family Equidae that includes horses, donkeys, and zebras. Within Equidae, Equus is the only extant genus. Like Equidae more broadly, Equus has numerous extinct species known only from fossils. This article deals primarily with the extant species.The term equine...
.
Mormon FARMS apologist Robert R. Bennett stated that as a comparison the famed horses of the Huns did not leave an archeological trace yet numbered in the thousands. He also points out the limited evidence of lions in Palestine:
"The biblical narrative mentions lions, yet it was not until very recently that the only other evidence for lions in Palestine was pictographic or literary. Before the announcement in a 1988 publication of two bone samples, there was no archaeological evidence to confirm the existence of lions in that region."
Critics argue that this rebuttal is not applicable since pictographic and literary evidence of horses in the New World (outside of the Book of Mormon) is unknown .
Elephants
Book of Ether
The Book of Ether is one of the books that make up the Book of Mormon. The Book of Ether tells of an ancient people , descendants of Jared and his companions who were led by God to the Americas shortly after the confusion of tongues and the destruction of the Tower of Babel...
. Mastodons and mammoths lived during the Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
in the New World; however, as with the prehistoric horse, the fossil record indicates that they became extinct along with most of the megafauna
Megafauna
In terrestrial zoology, megafauna are "giant", "very large" or "large" animals. The most common thresholds used are or...
towards the end of the last Ice Age. 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 8,000 B.P., but even this date is thousands of years before the Jaredite record in the Book of Mormon begins.
The main point of contention is how late these animals were present before becoming extinct.
Various LDS authors have cited evidence that North American mound builder cultures were familiar with the elephant. The oldest mound builder societies date to around 2000 BC. The mound builder / elephant controversy did not originate with the Book of Mormon. In The Mound Builders, Their Works and Relics, author Stephen Dennison Peet cites instances of exhumed mastodon remains and arguments given for why the remains were believed to be contemporary with mound builders. Elephant effigy pipes, of the characteristic mound builder platform style, were reported as archaeological finds in Iowa, and many have readily identified the animal depicted in the shape of the Wisconsin “elephant mound”, though others question whether this is in fact the animal represented. The former Iowa state archaeologist Marshall McKusick discusses the evidence indicating that the elephant platform pipes are frauds in his book on the so-called Davenport Tablets
Davenport Tablets
The Davenport Tablets are three tablets found in mounds near Davenport, Iowa. The first two were discovered on January 10, 1877 by a local clergyman, the Reverend Jacob Gass, while engaged in an emergency excavation at the site known as Cook's farm...
.
Critics note that the co-existence of man and elephantine animals is congruent with the archaeological record, but does not address the anachronism, since the dates of all elephantine remains have been placed well before their mention in the Book of Mormon.
There are instances of stories preserved orally by Native Americans which some LDS scholars believe may describe elephants. One such story is related by the Naskapi
Naskapi
The Naskapi are the indigenous Innu inhabitants of an area they refer to as Nitassinan, which comprises most of what other Canadians refer to as eastern Quebec and Labrador, Canada....
Indian Tribe, located in eastern Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
and the Labrador
Labrador
Labrador is the distinct, northerly region of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It comprises the mainland portion of the province, separated from the island of Newfoundland by the Strait of Belle Isle...
region of Canada. The story concerns a monster from the Naskapi tradition called Katcheetohuskw, which is described as being very large, with large ears, teeth and a long nose. Similar versions of "monster" legends related by other tribes refer to a monster called Ursida, which is described as more of a large, stiff-legged bear rather than a mammoth. The story of the "monster bear" is considered by some scholars to be purely mythical. Delaware and other native American legends of the “mastodon” are likewise said to exist
Cattle and cows
There are six references to cattle made in the Book of Mormon, including verbiage suggesting they were domesticated. There has been no evidence recovered that Old World cattle (members of the genus BosBos
Bos is the genus of wild and domestic cattle. Bos can be divided into four subgenera: Bos, Bibos, Novibos, and Poephagus, but these divisions are controversial. The genus has five extant species...
) inhabited the New World prior to European contact in the sixteenth century AD.
Apologists argue that the term "cattle" may be more generic that suggesting members of the genus Bos
Bos
Bos is the genus of wild and domestic cattle. Bos can be divided into four subgenera: Bos, Bibos, Novibos, and Poephagus, but these divisions are controversial. The genus has five extant species...
, and may have referred to bison
Bison
Members of the genus Bison are large, even-toed ungulates within the subfamily Bovinae. Two extant and four extinct species are recognized...
, mountain goats, llamas, or other American species. According to the Book of Mormon, varieties of "cattle" (including goats and sheep) could be found in ancient America. Without these the Nephites could not have kept the Law of Moses, as directed
LDS Apologists note that the word "cattle" may refer to the ancestor of the American bison
American Bison
The American bison , also commonly known as the American buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds...
, Bison antiquus
Bison antiquus
Bison antiquus, sometimes called the ancient bison, was the most common large herbivore of the North American continent for over ten thousand years, and is a direct ancestor of the living American bison....
(of the sub family Bovinae
Bovinae
The biological subfamily Bovinae includes a diverse group of 10 genera of medium to large sized ungulates, including domestic cattle, the bison, African buffalo, the water buffalo, the yak, and the four-horned and spiral-horned antelopes...
). Bison antiquus
Bison antiquus
Bison antiquus, sometimes called the ancient bison, was the most common large herbivore of the North American continent for over ten thousand years, and is a direct ancestor of the living American bison....
, sometimes called the ancient bison, was the most common large herbivore
Herbivore
Herbivores are organisms that are anatomically and physiologically adapted to eat plant-based foods. Herbivory is a form of consumption in which an organism principally eats autotrophs such as plants, algae and photosynthesizing bacteria. More generally, organisms that feed on autotrophs in...
of the North American continent for over ten thousand years, and is a direct ancestor of the living American bison.
However, no species of bison is known to have been domesticated as the "cattle" in the Book of Mormon are suggested to have been. Furthermore, it is widely accepted that the only large mammal to be domesticated in the Americas was the llama
Llama
The llama is a South American camelid, widely used as a meat and pack animal by Andean cultures since pre-Hispanic times....
; no species of goats, deer, sheep, or other "cattle" 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.
Goats
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.Domesticated goats are not native to the Americas, having been domesticated in pre-historic times on the Eurasian continent. Domestic goats were introduced on the American continent upon the arrival of the Europeans in the 15th century, 1000 years after the conclusion of the Book of Mormon, and nearly 2000 years after they are last mentioned in the Book of Mormon. The mountain goat
Mountain goat
The Mountain Goat , also known as the Rocky Mountain Goat, is a large-hoofed mammal found only in North America. Despite its vernacular name, it is not a member of Capra, the genus of true goats...
is indigenous to North America, but it has never been domesticated, and is known for being very aggressive.
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."
Roper also noted early Spanish colonists called native Mesoamerican brocket deer
Brocket Deer
Brocket deer are the species of deer in the genus Mazama. They are medium to small in size, and are found in the Yucatán Peninsula, Central and South America, and the island of Trinidad. Most species are primarily found in forests. They are superficially similar to the African duikers and the Asian...
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
Apologists note that Peccaries
Peccary
A peccary is a medium-sized mammal of the family Tayassuidae, or New World Pigs. Peccaries are members of the artiodactyl suborder Suina, as are the pig family and possibly the hippopotamus family...
(also known as Javelinas), which bear a superficial resemblance to pigs, have been present in South America since prehistoric times. LDS authors advocating the original mound builder setting for the Book of Mormon have similarly suggested North American peccaries (also called “wild pigs”) as the “swine” of the Jaredites.
Critics rebut that peccaries have never been domesticated.
It should also be noted that the Lehites, who entered the New World as observant Jews, would not have taken unclean animals onboard their ships, let alone bred them.
Barley and wheat
Barley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
and wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
. The introduction of domesticated modern barley and wheat to the New World was made by Europeans sometime 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:
"Research on this matter supports two possible explanations. First, the terms barley and wheat, as used in the Book of Mormon, may refer to certain other New World crop plants that were given Old World designations; and second, the terms may refer to genuine varieties of New World barley and wheat," states Mr Benett of the Maxwell Institute. "For example, the Spanish called the fruit of the prickly pear cactus a "fig," and emigrants from England called maize "corn," an English term referring to grains in general. A similar practice may have been employed when Book of Mormon people encountered New World plant species for the first time."
Apologist Robert R. Bennett of FARMS postulates that references to "barley" could refer to Hordeum pusillum
Hordeum pusillum
Hordeum pusillum or little barley is a diploid-type species of the Poaceae family of grasses. H. pusillum, native to the United States except the westernmost parts, originated via multiple long-distance dispersals of a southern South American species of Hordeum to North America about 1 million...
, also known as "Little Barley", a species of grass native to the Americas. The seeds are edible, and this plant was part of the Pre-Columbian Eastern Agricultural Complex
Eastern Agricultural Complex
The Eastern Agricultural Complex describes the agricultural practices of the pre-historic Eastern Woodland Native Americans in the eastern United States and Canada. Native Americans domesticated and cultivated many indigenous crops as far west as the Great Plains.-Term:The term Eastern Agricultural...
of cultivated plants used by Native Americans. 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.”.
Critics rebut these claims, rejecting 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 cultivation of Hordeum pusillum in North America, and the arrival of the Norse.
Honey Bees
Jaredite
The Jaredites are a people written of in the Book of Mormon, principally in the Book of Ether. In the Book of Ether, the Jaredites are described as the descendants of Jared and his brother, at the time of the Tower of Babel. According to the Book of Mormon, the people fled across the Ocean via...
s
- "did also carry with them deseret, which, by interpretation, is a honey bee; and thus they did carry with them swarms of bees."
Jeff Lindsay
Jeff Lindsay
Jeffrey Dean Lindsay is a business consultant, author, apologist, chemical engineer and patent agent who received attention defending The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on his website and blog...
counters this by quoting Alexander von Humboldt
Alexander von Humboldt
Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander Freiherr von Humboldt was a German naturalist and explorer, and the younger brother of the Prussian minister, philosopher and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt...
's Political Essay on the Kingdom of New Spain:
- "Cortez . . . told Emperor Charles V of the commodities sold in the great market of Tlaletolco--"There is sold," says he, "honey of bees and wax, honey from the stalks of maize, and honey from a shrub called maguey by the people. The natives make sugar of these plants, and this sugar they also sell."
In addition, the Mayans used Melipona beecheii, a stingless bee
Stingless bee
Stingless bees, sometimes called stingless honey bees or simply meliponines, are a large group of bees, comprising the tribe Meliponini . They belong in the family Apidae, and are closely related to common honey bees, carpenter bees, orchid bees and bumblebees...
, for honey, but this is not the same as the true honey bee
Honey bee
Honey bees are a subset of bees in the genus Apis, primarily distinguished by the production and storage of honey and the construction of perennial, colonial nests out of wax. Honey bees are the only extant members of the tribe Apini, all in the genus Apis...
, which is of the genus apis.
Figs
Sermon on the Mount
The Sermon on the Mount is a collection of sayings and teachings of Jesus, which emphasizes his moral teaching found in the Gospel of Matthew...
says:
- "Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?"
However, critics dispute the existence of figs in the pre-Columbian Americas.
Technology anachronisms
Chariots or wheeled vehicles
Clark Wissler
Clark Wissler was an American anthropologist.Born near Hagerstown, Indiana, Wissler graduated from Indiana University in 1897. He received his doctorate in psychology from Columbia University in 1901. After Columbia, Wissler left the field of psychology to focus on Anthropology...
, the Curator of Ethnography
Ethnography
Ethnography is a qualitative method aimed to learn and understand cultural phenomena which reflect the knowledge and system of meanings guiding the life of a cultural group...
at the American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
in New York City, noted:
"...we see that the prevailing mode of land transport in the New World was by human carrier. The wheel was unknown in pre-Columbian times."
A comparison of the South American Inca civilization to Mesoamerican civilizations shows the same lack of wheeled vehicles. Although the Incas used a vast network of paved roads (see Inca road system
Inca road system
The Inca road system was the most extensive and advanced transportation system in pre-Columbian South America. The network was based on two north-south roads with numerous branches. The best known portion of the road system is the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu...
), these roads are so rough, steep and narrow that they appear to be unsuitable for wheeled use. Bridges that the Inca people built, and even continue to use and maintain today in some remote areas, are straw-rope bridges so narrow (about 2–3 feet wide) that no wheeled vehicle can fit (see image and technology at Inca rope bridges). Inca roads were used mainly by chaski
Chaski
The Chasquis were agile and highly-trained runners that delivered messages, royal delicacies such as fish and other objects throughout the Inca Empire, principally in the service of the Sapa Inca....
message runners and llama
Llama
The llama is a South American camelid, widely used as a meat and pack animal by Andean cultures since pre-Hispanic times....
caravans.
Some apologists have pointed to the discovery of wheeled toys left in tombs. However, several researchers, including W. H. Holmes of the Bureau of American Ethnology
Bureau of American Ethnology
The Bureau of American Ethnology was established in 1879 by an act of Congress for the purpose of transferring archives, records and materials relating to the Indians of North America from the Interior Department to the Smithsonian Institution...
suspect that the toys were introduced into the tombs after the arrival of Europeans on the continent. He stated:
"CharnayDésiré CharnayClaude-Joseph Désiré Charnay was a French traveller and archaeologist notable both for his explorations of Mexico and Central America, and for the pioneering use of photography to document his discoveries....
obtained from an ancient cemetery at Tenenepanco, Mexico, a number of toy chariots of terra cottaTerra cottaTerracotta, Terra cotta or Terra-cotta is a clay-based unglazed ceramic, although the term can also be applied to glazed ceramics where the fired body is porous and red in color...
, 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
KV62
KV62 is the tomb of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings , which became famous for the wealth of treasure it contained. The tomb was discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter, underneath the remains of workmen's huts built during the Ramesside Period; this explains why it was spared from the worst of...
). 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 complete absence of these images among the hundreds of frescoes, hundreds of thousands of pieces of decorated pottery and pre-Columbian artwork found in the New World does not support the existence of Old World style chariots in the New World.
Referencing the discovery of wheeled chariot "toys" in Mayan
Maya civilization
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
funerary settings, Mormon scholar William J. Hamblin
William J. Hamblin
William James Hamblin is a Mormon apologist and associate professor of history at Brigham Young University . He is a former board member of the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies at BYU.- Biography :...
has suggested that the chariots mentioned in the Book of Mormon might refer to mythic or cultic wheeled vehicles.
Silk
Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
six times. Silk is a material that is created from the cocoon of the Asian moth Bombyx mori
Bombyx mori
The silkworm is the larva or caterpillar of the domesticated silkmoth, Bombyx mori . It is an economically important insect, being a primary producer of silk...
, and was unknown to the pre-Columbian Americas.
Mormon scholar John L. Sorenson
John L. Sorenson
John L. Sorenson is an emeritus professor of anthropology at Brigham Young University and the author of An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon as well as many other books and articles on the Book of Mormon and archaeology.Sorenson first did archaeological work in Mesoamerica while...
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 fiber spun by a wild silkworm to create a fabric.
Compass
The Book of Mormon also states that a "compassCompass
A compass is a navigational instrument that shows directions in a frame of reference that is stationary relative to the surface of the earth. The frame of reference defines the four cardinal directions – north, south, east, and west. Intermediate directions are also defined...
" or "Liahona" 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. In the Book of Alma
Book of Alma
The Book of Alma is one of the books that make up the Book of Mormon. The full title is The Book of Alma: The Son of Alma. The title refers to Alma the Younger, a prophet and "chief judge" of the Nephites.-Historical Outline:...
when Alma
Alma the Younger
According to the Book of Mormon, Alma, the son of Alma was a Nephite prophet often referred to as "Alma the Younger" to distinguish him from his father, who is often referred to as "Alma the Elder"...
, speaking to his son Helaman
Helaman
According to the Book of Mormon, Helaman was a Nephite prophet and soldier who lived around the 1st century BC. He is perhaps best known in LDS theology for leading into battle an army of two thousand young warriors, which he referred to as his two thousand sons...
, explains "our fathers called it Liahona, which is, being interpreted, a compass" . Alma tells his son that “it is as easy to give heed to the word of Christ ... to eternal bliss, as it was for our fathers to give heed to this compass ... to the promised land“ .
Apologists counter that the compass used by Nephi (the Liahona) was, according to the narrative, created by God himself, and not by the Nephites. Also, unlike a normal compass, the Book of Mormon says that there was also writing on the ball that displayed additional instructions from God
Elohim
Elohim is a grammatically singular or plural noun for "god" or "gods" in both modern and ancient Hebrew language. When used with singular verbs and adjectives elohim is usually singular, "god" or especially, the God. When used with plural verbs and adjectives elohim is usually plural, "gods" or...
. Apologists claim that it is possible that the compass used by the Nephites was not copied or used by the civilization, 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 golden plates
Golden Plates
According to Latter Day Saint belief, the golden plates are the source from which Joseph Smith, Jr. translated the Book of Mormon, a sacred text of the faith...
as a best fit for the concept of the compass, and as such it is not necessarily an anachronism.
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 BibleChronology of the Bible
The chronology of the Bible is the elaborate system of genealogies, generations, reign-periods, and other means by which Hebrew Bible measures the passage of time and thus give a chronological framework to biblical history from the Creation until the historical kingdoms of Israel and Judah.The...
), and that they specifically avoided crafting windows for lighting in their covered seagoing vessels, because the windows would be "dashed in pieces" during the ocean voyage. Transparent window panes are a more recent invention. The earliest known production of glass dates to 3500 BC. in Egypt and Mesopotamia, though the specimens are non-transparent 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 "חַלּוֹן" ("chalon") translated "window" in Genesis 8:6 in the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, 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.
Uses of metal
The Book of Mormon mentions a number of metals, and the use of metal. However, while pre-Columbian tribes used metal, often beaten, there is no accepted evidence of high-temperature smelting. The word "drossDross
Dross is a mass of solid impurities floating on a molten metal. It appears usually on the melting of low-melting-point metals or alloys such as tin, lead, zinc or aluminium, or by oxidation of the metal. It can also consist of impurities such as paint leftovers...
" (meaning a by-product of smelting) appears twice in the Book of Alma
Book of Alma
The Book of Alma is one of the books that make up the Book of Mormon. The full title is The Book of Alma: The Son of Alma. The title refers to Alma the Younger, a prophet and "chief judge" of the Nephites.-Historical Outline:...
too; according to Brent Lee Metcalfe:
- "The importance of metallurgy suggested by these frequent references to the metals themselves is confirmed by Nephite use of metaphors about metallurgical processes. For example, the word "dross" is employed metaphorically. Dross is the waste product of smelting, the impurities which rise to the surface above the heavier molten metal. When cool, dross is a newly formed rock consisting of oxides, silicas, and other components of the ore in which the metallic mineral occurred. Dross has the usual qualities of a hard rock in that it resists erosion and deterioration unless subject to mechanical and/or chemical breakdown. The context for the word "dross" in two passages in the Book of Mormon record suggests that the speaker and audience [p.287] understood the metallurgical process the metaphor implies (cf. Ps. 119:119; Prov. 25:4; 26:23; Isa. 1:22, 25; Ezek. 22:18-19). "Therefore they were not permitted to enter into their synagogues to worship God, being esteemed as filthiness," the text explains. "Therefore they were poor; yea, they were esteemed by their brethren as dross; therefore they were poor as to things of the world; and also they were poor in heart" (Alma 32:3). Later it is explained, "[T]herefore, if ye do not remember to be charitable, ye are as dross, which the refiners do cast out, (it being of no worth) and is trodden under foot of men" (34:29). Such apt metaphors suggest that metallurgical processes were an important and generally understood feature of Nephite life."
The Book of Mosiah
Book of Mosiah
The Book of Mosiah is one of the books which make up the Book of Mormon. The title refers to Mosiah II, a king of the Nephites at Zarahemla. The book covers the time period between ca 130 BC and 91 BC, except for when the book has a flashback into the Record of Zeniff, which starts at ca 200 BC,...
also mentions "ziff" as a metal, but it is not clear what this is supposed to mean.
Steel and iron
SteelSteel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
and iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
are mentioned several times in the Book of Mormon. There is no evidence of steel (hardened iron) production in North, Central, or South America.
Between 2004 and 2007, a Purdue University
Purdue University
Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
archaeologist, Kevin J. Vaughn, discovered a 2000 year old iron ore mine near Nazca
Nazca
Nazca is a system of valleys on the southern coast of Peru, and the name of the region's largest existing town in the Nazca Province. It is also the name applied to the Nazca culture that flourished in the area between 300 BC and AD 800...
, Peru. The discovery demonstrated that iron was mined during the period of time covered in the Book of Mormon.
There are also numerous excavations that included iron ore. 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" may be referring to another alloy of hardened metal such as the hardened copper alloy that is translated with the word "steel" in the King James Version of the Bible. This alloy is in fact a hardened copper similar to bronze and not hardened iron Though usually more resistant to oxidation than iron, hardened alloys of copper can oxidize. It is therefore not certain that the mention of “rust” is the same as iron oxide.
Metal swords, which had "rusted"
Swords
A sword is a cutting/thrusting weapon made of metal. Sword or swords may also refer to:* Swords, County Dublin, Ireland* Suit of swords, a suit in Latin-suited playing cards and Tarot decks* SWORDS, a ground-based military robot...
and their use in battle. When the remnants of the Jaredite's final battle were discovered, the Book of Mormon narrative states that "the blades thereof were cankered with rust."
Warriors in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica are known to have used wooden clubs with blade-like obsidian
Obsidian
Obsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed as an extrusive igneous rock.It is produced when felsic lava extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimum crystal growth...
flakes, which being stone cannot rust.
Apologists counter that most references to swords do not speak of the material they were made of, and that they may refer to a number of weapons such as the Macuahuitl
Macuahuitl
The maquahuitl is a weapon shaped like a wooden sword. Its sides are embedded with prismatic blades made from obsidian, a volcanic glass stone frequently used for tool making by the Aztec and other pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures...
, a "sword" made of obsidian blades that was used by the Aztecs. It was very sharp and could decapitate a man or horse. However, this does not explain several references to swords that were explicitly made out of steel, and another metal that was capable of "rusting". Obsidian flakes on a Macuahuitl are not capable of rusting.
Some studies have shown that metallurgy did exist in a primitive state in Mesoamerica during the Preclassic/Formative and Classic periods (which corresponds to the time period in the Book of Mormon). These metals include brass, iron ore, copper, silver, and gold. However, the metals were never used to make swords; Vaughn 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."
Cimiters
Scimitar
A scimitar is a backsword or sabre with a curved blade, originating in Southwest Asia .The Arabic term saif translates to "sword" in general, but is normally taken to refer to the scimitar type of curved backsword in particular.The curved sword or "scimitar" was widespread throughout the Muslim...
" 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 from), or any other civilization prior to 450 AD. As with swords, there is no evidence that native American peoples had metal blades.
The word cimiter (scimitar) has at different times referred to a long curved sword used by the Persians and Turks, or a smaller curved knife, similar to the kopis
Kopis
The kopis was a sword with a forward-curving blade, primarily used as a tool for cutting meat, for slaughter and animal sacrifice, but also as a weapon....
of the Turks, or makhaira
Makhaira
Makhaira is a term used by modern scholars to describe a type of ancient bladed weapon, generally a large knife with a slight backwards curve...
of the Greeks.
Apologists, including Michael R. Ash
Michael R. Ash
- Biography :Ash was born in Rockledge, Florida as the second son of an eventual four boys. He currently lives in Ogden, Utah. He and his wife Christine are the parents of three daughters and grandparents of four grandchildren.- Apologetic work :...
, and William Hamblin of FAIR
Foundation for Apologetic Information & Research
The Foundation for Apologetic Information & Research is a non-profit organization that specializes in Mormon apologetics and responds to criticism of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . FAIR is made up of volunteers who seek to answer questions submitted to its web site...
, note that the Book of Mormon does not mention the materials that the "cimiters" were made out of, and postulate that the word is was chosen by Joseph Smith as the closest workable English word for the weapon used by the Nephites that was not made of metal, and was short and curved.
System of exchange based on measures of precious metals
The Book of Mormon details a system of weights and measuresBook of Mormon weights and measures
Metals in the Book of Mormon are used to describe a weight measurement system as follows:-Gold:*Senine = 0.5 seon [sean] = barley measure = any grain measure = judge's wages for a day...
used by the societies described therein. 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.
Knowledge of Hebrew and Egyptian languages
Egyptian language
Egyptian is the oldest known indigenous language of Egypt and a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. Written records of the Egyptian language have been dated from about 3400 BC, making it one of the oldest recorded languages known. Egyptian was spoken until the late 17th century AD in the...
. Archaeological evidence has been found for five or six different Mesoamerican scripts
Mesoamerican writing systems
Mesoamerica, like India, Mesopotamia, China, and Egypt, is one of the few places in the world where writing has developed independently. Mesoamerican scripts deciphered to date are logosyllabic, combining the use of logograms with a syllabary, and they are often called hieroglyphic scripts...
, but archaeological dating methods make it difficult to establish which was earliest (and hence the forebear from which the others developed) and a significant portion of the documented scripts have not been deciphered. None of the documented Mesoamerican language
Mesoamerican languages
Mesoamerican languages are the languages indigenous to the Mesoamerican cultural area, which covers southern Mexico, all of Guatemala and Belize and parts of Honduras and El Salvador. The area is characterized by extensive linguistic diversity containing several hundred different languages and...
scripts have any known relation to Hebrew or Egyptian. The Book of Mormon describes another literate culture, the Jaredites, but does not identify the language or writing system by name. The text of the Book of Mormon refers only to a language used prior to the alleged confounding of languages at the great tower, presumed to refer to the Tower of Babel
Tower of Babel
The Tower of Babel , according to the Book of Genesis, was an enormous tower built in the plain of Shinar .According to the biblical account, a united humanity of the generations following the Great Flood, speaking a single language and migrating from the east, came to the land of Shinar, where...
.
Linguistic studies on the evolution of the spoken languages of the Americas agree with the widely held model that the initial colonization of the Americas by Homo sapiens occurred over 10,000 years ago instead of during the time frame given in the Book of Mormon.
Some apologists argue that the Book of Mormon does not describe all of the original settlers of the Americas, but rather a subset of the larger population, who settled in a limited geographical setting, and that evidence of the knowledge of Hebrew or Egyptian would be too sparse to be found. Critics note that this is not congruent with past church teachings, and the preface to past editions of the Book of Mormon.
"Christ" and "Messiah"
The words "ChristChrist
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
" and "Messiah
Messiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
" are used several hundred times throughout the Book of Mormon. The first instance of the word "Christ" dates to between 559 and 545 BC. The first instance of the word "Messiah" dates to about 600 BC.
"Christ" is the English transliteration of the Greek word Χριστός (transliterated precisely as Christós); it is relatively synonymous with the Hebrew word rendered "Messiah
Messiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
." Both words have the meaning of "anointed," and are used in the Bible to refer to "the Anointed One". In Greek translations of the Old Testament (including the Septuagint), the word "Christ" is used for the Hebrew "Messiah", and in Hebrew translations of the New Testament, the word "Messiah" is used for the Greek "Christ". If you take any passage in the Bible that uses the word "Christ", you can substitute for it the word "Messiah" or "the Messiah" with no change in meaning (e.g. ).
The Book of Mormon uses both terms throughout the book. In the vast majority of cases, it uses the terms in an identical manner as the Bible, where it doesn't matter which word is used:
- "And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is (Christ/the Messiah), the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall" .
- "And after he had baptized (Christ/the Messiah) with water, he should behold and bear record that he had baptized the Lamb of God, who should take away the sins of the world." .
Apologists state that the original Reformed Egyptian text certainly used Hebrew forms of names and titles exclusively, but when translating Joseph Smith simply used whichever form of the name ("Christ" or "Messiah") was more appropriate in English.
The Book of Mormon occasionally uses the word "Christ" in a way that is not interchangeable with "Messiah". For example in , the Book of Mormon prophet
Prophet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
Jacob
Jacob
Jacob "heel" or "leg-puller"), also later known as Israel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, the New Testament and the Qur'an was the third patriarch of the Hebrew people with whom God made a covenant, and ancestor of the tribes of Israel, which were named after his descendants.In the...
says an angel informed him that the name of the Messiah would be Christ:
"Wherefore, as I said unto you, it must needs be expedient that Christ—for in the last night the angel spake unto me that this should be his name—should come among the Jews"The word "Messiah" was used frequently before this point, but here Jacob says the term "Christ" is a new term, and from this point on the word "Christ" is used almost exclusively in the Book of Mormon.
Richard Packham argues that the Greek word "Christ" in the Book of Mormon challenges the authenticity of the work since, Joseph Smith clearly stated that, "There was no Greek or Latin upon the plates from which I, through the grace of the Lord, translated the Book of Mormon."
Hugh Nibley postulated that the word Messiah could have been derived from Arabic rather than Hebrew, although Arabic is not mentioned as one of the languages in which the golden plates were written.
Greek names
Joseph Smith stated in a letter to the editor of Times and SeasonsTimes and Seasons
Times and Seasons was a 19th-century Latter Day Saint periodical published monthly or twice-monthly at Nauvoo, Illinois, from November 1839 to February 15, 1846...
, "There was no Greek or Latin upon the plates from which I, through the grace of the Lord, translated the Book of Mormon." Nevertheless, the Book of Mormon contains some names which appear to be Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, some of which are Hellenization
Hellenization
Hellenization is a term used to describe the spread of ancient Greek culture, and, to a lesser extent, language. It is mainly used to describe the spread of Hellenistic civilization during the Hellenistic period following the campaigns of Alexander the Great of Macedon...
s of Hebrew names (e.g. Antipas, Archeantus, Esrom, Ezias, Jonas, Judea, Lachoneus and Zenos).
Others are non-biblical and their presence in the book is puzzling to both believers and skeptics, since neither Smith nor the Nephites spoke Greek. One explanation has been offered by Brian D. Stubbs, who said that though the language of the Mulekites isn't put forward in the Book of Mormon, it could have consisted of Phoenician, Greek, or Arabic.
"Church" and "Synagogue"
The word "churchChurch Body
A local church is a Christian religious organization that meets in a particular location. Many are formally organized, with constitutions and by-laws, maintain offices, are served by pastors or lay leaders, and, in nations where this is permissible, often seek seek non-profit corporate status...
" first occurs in 1 Nephi 4:26, where a prophet named Nephi disguises himself as Laban, a prominent man in Jerusalem whom Nephi had slain:
"And he [Laban's servant], supposing that I spake of the brethren of the church, and that I was truly that Laban whom I had slain, wherefore he did follow me" .
According to the Book of Mormon
Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement that adherents believe contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from approximately 2600 BC to AD 421. It was first published in March 1830 by Joseph Smith, Jr...
, this exchange happened in Jerusalem, around 600 BC. The meaning of the word "church
Church Body
A local church is a Christian religious organization that meets in a particular location. Many are formally organized, with constitutions and by-laws, maintain offices, are served by pastors or lay leaders, and, in nations where this is permissible, often seek seek non-profit corporate status...
" in the Book of Mormon is more comparable to usage in the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
than Modern English. The concept of a church, meaning a convocation of believers, existed among the House of Israel
House of Israel
The House of Israel is a Jewish community in Ghana. This ethnic group claim to be one of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel.-History of Jews in Ghana:...
prior to Christianity. For instance, Psalms
Psalms
The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...
speaks of praising the Lord "in the congregation of the saints"; the Septuagint contains the Greek word ecclesia for "congregation," which is also translated as "church" in the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
. The Book of Mormon using the word "church" in the same "style" as the Bible is seen by some apologists as support for the Book of Mormon.
A similar question regards the word "synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
," found in Alma 16:13:
"And Alma and Amulek went forth preaching repentance to the people in their temples, and in their sanctuaries, and also in their synagogues, which were built after the manner of the Jews" .
Scholars note that synagogues did not exist in their modern form before the destruction of the temple and the Babylonian captivity
Babylonian captivity
The Babylonian captivity was the period in Jewish history during which the Jews of the ancient Kingdom of Judah were captives in Babylon—conventionally 587–538 BCE....
. The oldest known synagogue is located in Delos, Greece has been dated to 150 BC.
Other anachronisms
Critics Jerald and Sandra TannerJerald and Sandra Tanner
Jerald Dee Tanner was an American writer and researcher who, with his wife Sandra McGee Tanner spent nearly fifty years annotating and publishing archival and evidential materials which, the Tanners claim, accurately portrayed the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
and Marvin W. Cowan contend that certain linguistic properties of the Book of Mormon provide evidence that the book was fabricated by Joseph Smith.
These critics cite linguistic anachronisms such as:
- The Americanized [sic] name "Sam" (1 Nephi 2:5,17)
"Adieu"
The FrenchFrench language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
word "adieu" appears once in the Book of Mormon in Jacob 7:27.
Supporters of the Book of Mormon refute this by stating that the text is a translation into a modern language (English), so the use of a French word is not amiss. For example, Daniel H. Ludlow
Daniel H. Ludlow
Daniel Hansen Ludlow was a professor of religion at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He was also the chief editor of the Encyclopedia of Mormonism, published in 1992 by Macmillan.- Biography :...
contends that the use of the French word "adieu", and others, may have been the result of Joseph Smith choosing the best word available to convey the meaning of the original text.
Anachronisms apparently perpetuated from the King James translation
A large portion of the Book of Mormon quotes from the Brass plates which purport to be another source of Old Testament writings mirroring those of the Bible. In many cases, the Biblical quotations in the English-language Book of Mormon, are close, or identical to the equivalent sections of the King James Version. Critics consider several Book of Mormon anachronisms to originate in the 1611 KJV."Satyr"
In 2 Nephi 23:21, the Book of Mormon quotes Isaiah 13:21, which mentions a "satyrSatyr
In Greek mythology, satyrs are a troop of male companions of Pan and Dionysus — "satyresses" were a late invention of poets — that roamed the woods and mountains. In myths they are often associated with pipe-playing....
". Satyrs are creatures from Greek mythology
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
, which are half-man, half-goat. The King James Bible translates Isaiah 34:14 thus:
- "The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; the screech owl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest." ("וְרָבְצוּ־שָׁם צִיִּים וּמָלְאוּ בָתֵּיהֶם אֹחִים וְשָׁכְנוּ שָׁם בְּנֹות יַֽעֲנָה וּשְׂעִירִים יְרַקְּדוּ־")
Other English-language versions of the Bible, including the New International Version
New International Version
The New International Version is an English translation of the Christian Bible. Published by Zondervan in the United States and by Hodder & Stoughton in the UK, it has become one of the most popular modern translations in history.-History:...
, translate the word שעיר (sa`iyr) as "wild goat", other translations include "monkey" and "dancing devil".
See also
- Archaeology and the Book of MormonArchaeology and the Book of MormonSince the publication of the Book of Mormon in 1830, both Mormon and non-Mormon archaeologists have studied its claims in reference to known archaeological evidence...
- Columbian ExchangeColumbian ExchangeThe Columbian Exchange was a dramatically widespread exchange of animals, plants, culture, human populations , communicable disease, and ideas between the Eastern and Western hemispheres . It was one of the most significant events concerning ecology, agriculture, and culture in all of human history...
- Dené–Yeniseian languages
- Genetics and the Book of MormonGenetics and the Book of MormonThe Book of Mormon, one of the four books of scripture of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , is an account of three groups of people. Two of these groups supposedly originated from Israel...
- Historicity of the Book of MormonHistoricity of the Book of MormonThe question of the historical authenticity of the Book of Mormon has long been a source of contention between members of the Latter Day Saint movement and non-members. Many, but not all, Mormons hold the book's connection to ancient American history as an article of their faith. However, this view...
- Linguistics and the Book of MormonLinguistics and the Book of MormonAccording to most adherents of the Latter Day Saint movement, the Book of Mormon is a 19th century translation of a record of ancient inhabitants of the American continent, which was written in a script which the book refers to as "reformed Egyptian." This claim, as well as virtually all claims to...
- Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contactPre-Columbian trans-oceanic contactTheories of Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact are those theories that propose interaction between indigenous peoples of the Americas who settled the Americas before 10,000 BC, and peoples of other continents , which occurred before the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Caribbean in 1492.Many...
- Pre-Columbian engineering in the AmericasPre-Columbian engineering in the AmericasEngineering in the Americas before the arrival of Christopher Columbus was advanced in agriculture, hydrology, irrigation systems, transportation, mechanical engineering, civil engineering and astronomy...