Journal of Book of Mormon Studies Volume 12 | Number 1 Article 4 1-31-2003 Before DNA John L. Sorenson Matthew Roper Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jbms BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Sorenson, John L. and Roper, Matthew (2003) "Before DNA," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies: Vol. 12 : No. 1 , Article 4. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jbms/vol12/iss1/4 This Feature Article is brought to you for free and open access by the All Journals at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Book of Mormon Studies by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact
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[email protected]. Title Before DNA Author(s) John L. Sorenson and Matthew Roper Reference Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 12/1 (2003): 6–23, 113–15. ISSN 1065-9366 (print), 2168-3158 (online) Abstract Critics of the Book of Mormon often cite genetic “evi- dence” in their attacks on the historicity of the text, saying that the lack of any Near Eastern–American Indian DNA links conclusively proves that no emi- gration ever occurred from the Near East to the Americas. Their simplistic approach—that the Book of Mormon purports to be a history of the entire American Indian race—is not supported by archaeo- logical or Book of Mormon evidence. The authors pose and respond to questions about the geographi- cal scene, the spread of Book of Mormon peoples, Latter-day Saint traditions about the scenes and peo- ples of the Book of Mormon, the terms Nephites and Lamanites, the possible presence of others in the land, ocean travel, Mesoamerican native traditions, lan- guages of the Western Hemisphere, Old World peoples coming to the Americas, archaeological evidence, and ethnically distinct populations in ancient American art.