THEZARAHEMLA RECORD

/ssueNumber 2 September 1978

"And he that witl not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word..." Alma 9: 18 The MORMON BOOKOF Endof JareditesArrive Jaredite Division and Culture of People- MESOAMERICAN OutlinesCompared: Beginning, Highpointsand Endings FirstPottery Endof Olmec Maya Glyphs Appears Culture Begin

By RaymondC. Treat

The most importanttype of evidenceat the presenttime time range. The first pottery is clatedwithin this range. The so- supportingthe Bookof Mormonis a correlationof the outlines called Pox pottery from Puerto Marquez, Guerrero and the of the and Mesoamericanarchaeology at Tehuacan Valley is dated 2300-2M B.C. and the newly strategic points along the approximately2800 years of their discovered Swasey pottery from Belize goes back to this time. common history. To understandthe reasonfor this it is Pottery is one of the most important types of evidence in necessaryto understandthat archaeologicalinformation is on- Mesoamericanarchaeology and the first appearanceof pottery ly partialinformation. Therefore, most archaeological informa- is always significant. Mesoamerica itself becomes known as a tion is subjectto morethan one interpretation.There is abun- culture area soon after the appearanceof pottery. dant evidencein Mesoamericanarchaeology supporting the Bookof Mormon,but in manycases a non-believercould offer Highpoint an opposinginterpretation to explainthe evidence.However, Archaeology necessarilydeals with physical things. Therefore the reconstructionof a long culturehistory is lesssubiect to in- an archaeologicalhighpoint is defined in terms of the quantity terpretationsince more data is gatheredto constructit than and quality of materialremains. Spiritual values of a culture are any other single type of archaeologicalevidence. This is much more difficult to detect. Based on written history we becausea chronologicaloutline is the firstthing archaeologists know that spiritual highpoints almost always precede material try to reconstruct.The chronologyis basicto understanding highpoints. Thus there is a time lag between a spiritual high- most other types of archaeologicalevidence. point and its physicalexpression. As impliedin the title, we will limit our discussionto the Again, we do not have exact dates from the Book of Mor- beginning,highpoint and ending of the two major cultures mon, but we do have a genealogy.There is a good correlation representedin the Book of Mormon- the Jareditesand the between the most likely time period for the Jaredite highpoint the name given to the maior ar- combinedMulekite, Nephite and Lamaniteculture (see Figure and Olmec highpoint. Olmec is high- 1). Of course,these last three groups produceddistinctive chaeologicalgroup livingduring the time of the Jaredite period of these coinciding highpoints is culturesa! differenttimes but for the purposesof this article point. The time (see p. they can be consideiedas one culturesince they mergeddur- 1400-1200B.C. Peoples, Places and Prophecies 371. genealogy ing the GoldenAge. These dates line up well with Old World history, the of Ethel qnd Olmec archaeology. The first recognizedOlmec phase begins at 1200 B.C. at the assume the THEJAREDITES site of San Lorenzo, Veracruz. Therefore, We provided impetus for Olmec material Beginning spiritualclimax which the preceded it. We do not know the exact date for the arrival of the culture at 1200 B.C. must have Jareditesto the New World but 2500-2350B.C. is probablythe most reasonablerange of time to consider(see People, Places (Continuedon pafie 2) and Propheciesby VerneilW. Simmons,p. 26l-.The evidence ^,^ll .^,i+k +Li^ Page 2 The Zarahemla Record September 1978

OUTLf N ES rconrinuedrrom pse t.) B.C.for the Mulekites.Without going into details, it is possible to detecta significantculture change in Mesoamericaat this time. Thiscan be seenin the architectureand ceramics.There

t." *, t* is a definitebreak in ceramictraditions around 550 B.C.

Ceramicvesselfrom Vistahermosadated ahout ffi B.C. This vesselrepresents ceramics from the post-Olmec period, most likely from the Mulekite culture.

Highpoint and Ending The dateof 300A. D. haslong been accepted as the beginn- ing of the ClassicMaya, the beginningof the Mayahighpoint. Thisdate of 300A. D. was basedon the Thompsoncorrelation of the Mayaglyph dates. However, according to the Book of Mormon,the beginningof the highpoint(Golden Age) occur- redsome 250 years earlier. For this reason,many Book of Mor- mon scholarsrejected the Thompsoncorrelation in favorof the The two most common ceramic forms used during Olmec times. Spindencorrelation, which was 260years earlier. We can now Upper: tecomate or neckless jar, used mostly for cooking. Lower: flat bottomed bowlwith outflaring sides, probably used as a seruing dish. say that the Thompsoncorrelation, almost universallyac- cepted by archaeologists,r.s in essentialagreement with the Book of Mormon.The glyphs,which the Thompsoncorrelation dates, do not representthe highpointof Maya civilization,but the beginningof its downfall.Let us explain. Ending The beginningof the ClassicMaya has traditionallybeen The archaeologicaldate for the the final endingof Olmec defined by the appearanceof three major traits: polychrome phase is around600 B.C.Thus, there is an obviouscorrelation pottery, the corbelledvault techniqueof architectureand betweenthe demiseof the Jareditesas a cultureand the endof hieroglyphicdates. These were all thought to appearat the the olmec. sametime as the glyphdates of 289A.D. (roundedoff to 300 There is also an phase recognized Olmec-related that is A. D.). Recentevidence now allowsMaya archaeologists to say sometimescalled Modified Olmec which follows the endof this that polychromepottery and the corbelledvault began as early "pure" phase. final Olmec Thisis alsoconfirmation of Bookof as 100A. D. Therefore,we cansay that the ClassicMaya began Mormonevidence. The continueduse of Jareditenames and at 100A.D. and not at 300A.D. as previouslythought. Allow- traditionsamong the Mulekitesstrongly suggests that not allof ing for the samekind of time lag as was explainedunder the part the Jareditestook in the final battle. Archaeological Jareditehighpoint, the 100 A.D. beginningis in agreement evidenceindicates that the Olmecgradually lost their identity after600 B.c. (Continued on page 6)

MULEKITES, AND THEZARAHEMLA RECORD Beginning is publishedby the ZarahemlaResearch Foundation Thesethree culturesare distinctfrom the Jarediteculture P.O. Box 881,McAllen, Texas 78501. and can be treatedas a singlenon-Jaredite culture for the sake Mail addresschanges to the Foundationaddress. of this article.Their actual arrival to the NewWorld is givenas CONTRIBUTINGEDITORS: 600 B.C. for the combinedNephite-Lamanite group and 587 WayneE. Simmons RaymondC. Treat Photography:Frank E. Frye Distribution:Sharon Francis The ZarahemlaRecord September 1978Page 3 A PATRIARCHALVIEW OF ISRAEL By WayneE. Simmons PARTI

This is a good day to talk about our "roots". Alex Haley Manyinspired sermons compare the latterday church with the wrote about his heritagein the memorablebook, Roots, which lsraelites,redeemed from bondagein Egypt,wandering in the has capturedmuch of the presentgeneration's admiration ex- Sinaidesert, led by a prophetand guided by a cloudby dayand pressedin their purchaseof more than a million hardcover a pillarof fire by night.5We, likethem, desireentry into a pro- copies--priced at $12.50each. Haleytells us that his mother misedland. lt is smallwonder that we havecome to identify often seemedembarrassed by referencesto her parents'slave oursefvesas Latter Day lsrael,savoring the promisein which past. His grandmother'sreaction was, "lf you don't carewho ancientlsrael was identifiedas the Lord'speople, special and and whereyou comefrom, well / does."1Many of the rootsof holyin theircalling. lt seemsevident that lsraelwas the Lord's the ReorganizedChurch of Jesus Christof Latter Day Saints churchin formerdays, for from Jacob'stime to Christthere is are identifiedwith lsrael by ancient and modern prophets, no recordof any other that enioyedHis divinepromise. Too, whetherthey talk about her covenantsand inheritance,or her manyin our age havesought their patriarchal blessings, in the promiseof destinyas God's people.Very earlyin the Restora- spiritof the children'shearts being turned to theirfathers, and tion Movement,Joseph Smith in hissecond vision was promp- have been given knowledgeof their spirituallineage from ted to seethe ties betweenhimself and the lsraelitewriters of Abraham,and from lsrael.This is accordingto divinedirection scriptures,when the messenger,Moroni, cited an important offeredto patriarch-evangelistsmore than 75 yearsago.6 passageas fundamentalto the young man'smission: Then, of course,there are many New Testamentscriptures person,no matterwhat his Behold,I will sendyou Elijahthe prophetbefore the comingof the great which attest to the fact that any and dreadfulday of the Lord; And he shallturn the heartof the fathers lineagemight be, is countedas a child of Abrahamthrough to the children,and the heartof the childrento their fathers,lest I come the pro- 2 lsaacand Jacob, and of spirituallsrael, an inheritorof and smite the earth whith a curse. seed This scripture was twice repeated in the Doctrine and misesand covenantsof God madeto Abraham'sfaithful of lsrael Covenants3 and lendsitself to much reminiscenceas to who or posterity.?In fact, Paulwarned that not all who are of the are our fathers,and fvhat of Elijah,who in the words of Christ by lineageare countedas spirituallsrael if they are not 'Although lsrael was to come andrestore all things. this Elijahis not gospel.sSo, most of us in tl e churchfeel that we are of begsthe identifiedpositively for us, many LatterDay Saintsbelieve that one way or another,by lineagqor adoption.Yet this lsrael he was personifiedin John the Baptistwho came and in- question,"Am I reattyof the childrenwho lookto ancient Gentile, stitutedAaronic priesthood and authoritativebaptism on May as fathers?"How shalll'identify myself? A converted of my 15, lru as the Eliasof prophecy.Since that day many men, adoptedinto lsrael?A lineallsraelite through evidence lsraelas women and childrenhave celebrated their covenantsin gospel patriarchalblessing? Or shallI treat all referencesto and ordinancesnewly restored,and thus, their heartshave been outdatedand anachronisticas do manyof the Protestant to callall turned to their fathers, who were of ancient lsrael.And no Catholicwriters? Our earlyRestored Church tended up un- doubt,many stalwarts of ancientlsrael, whether in Paradiseor "outsiders", Gentiles,and no doubt they stirred now be alreadyresurrected are madejoyously aware of their children necessaryhostility by such nomenclature.What shall Baptistor of faith in theselatter days. our terminologyfor the devoutCatholic, Methodist, who has a bap- Our world conferenceshave traditionallyopened with the Presbyterianwho also believesin Christand his church'sprovi- singing of the hymn, Redeemerof lsrael, by W.W. Phelps. tismalrelationship with Him accordingto sion.Are they Gentilesfor not beingof our church? This churchreally needs to makeup its mindon thesesear- Statementof Purpose chingquestions. While we awaitany officialpronouncement, The ZarahemiaResearch Foundation is a non-profit,tax- permit me to react, reasoningfrOm a ratherextensive base of exempt corporationchartered under the laws of the state of latter day scriptures.I believethat we are a latterday expres- Missouri.This is a non-churchsponsored association. A major sionof lsrael,whether by lineageor adoptiveright. We arelat- aim of the Foundationis to provideinformation and audio- ter day tsraelin spiritualterms. I suspectthat the realkey to our visualmaterials to assistin Bookof Mormonministries. ZRF is identificationwith lsraellies in the restorationof everlasting opento all who desireto improvetheir understanding and use priesthoodto this church. of the Book of Mormon. The Jews no longerclaim any priesthood,except to believe A major goal of this newsletteris to providea bridge of everyman is a priestin the senseof publishingthe one-nessof understandingbetween the scientific-orientedfield of ar- God to the Gentile nations. The Protestants repudiate chaeologyand Book of .Keeping abreast of priesthoodin performanceof gospelordinances, and speakof archaeologicalinformation is a full-timejob, hencefew people JesusChrist as the only priestknown to them, seeingeach per- are in a positionto devotethe time neededto this subject.Yet, son as his own advocateor priest.The Catholicand Orthodox there is a wealth of informationand enlightenmentthere that churches claim priesthoodfrom the day of Christ through remainsto be tapped. This newsletterhopes to draw on the Peter,but they do not recognizepriesthood as existingfrom finds of thosewho are in a positionto give time to theseareas the beginningof mankind.They now view lsraelas apostate, of researchand make this informationavailable to interested church members. (Continued on Page 4) Page 4 The Zarahemla Record September 1978

fSfaef (Continuedfrom page 3) and see no virtue in her descendantshaving priestly rights in believeis the Bookof Mormon.Also, I proposeto examinethe this age, and they statethat all this endedwith Christ'sgreat prophecieswhich speak of the "GentileNations." ;acrificeat the cross. Our churchis taughtthat priesthoodis linkedto the fathers iincethe time of the fallof man.eWe lookback to Adamas the first high priest and see authorityto perform spiritualor- dinancesrestored in Christ'sday to lsraelin the Old World, TRIBESOF ISRAEL thenlost in the greatapostasy and restoredin JosephSmith's And Jacob calledunto his sons,and said, Gatheryourselves together that I maytellyou that which shall befallyou in the lastdays.Gen. 49:1 day.We aretaught to lookfor priesthood'slineal course even amongpresent day Jews and otherremnant peoples, although There are many propheticscriptures that promisecertain ;t is presently hidden from the world.lo We await the landsto the houseof lsraelin the latterdays. Some of the righteousnessof the sons of Levi (Malachi3:3), and we languageof prophecygive hintsas to inherentcharacteristics denominateour MelchisedecPriesthood as "sons of Moses," of lsrael'sdiverse peoples as well. Notableamong such scrip- and thoseof the lesserpriesthood as "sons of Aaron." In her turesare those recordedby Mosesin the Pentateuch,giving priesthood,this churchaffirms that sheis latterday lsrael,and Jacob's own blessingto his sons, and to Joseph'ssons, will continue,I believe,so long as her priesthoodare divinely Ephraimand Manasseh.l2Moses also recordshis own bless- calledand performthe ordinancesof the gospelin the purityof ingsfor someof the tribes,in the lastdays of hislife.l3 Because her instructions. someof lsrael'stribal descendants have found theirway into Jacobgaye great promises to Ephraimand Manasseh,sons the churchby covenantin thesetimes, it may be of valueto of Joseph,saying: "Let my namebe namedon them, andthe searchfor tribalcharacteristics that they bring to LatterDay nameof my fathers,Abraham and lsaac;and letthem grow in- lsrael,both good and bad,that will be inherentin theirnatures. to a multitudein the midstof the earth." Genesis48:16. Jacob This list is necessarilydefective, for little is saidabout some of crossedhis hands when he gaveeach of the brothershis bless- the tribalelements, and of what is said,some of the meanings ing, and did not bestowany specialbirthright on Manassehas are stillquite obscure. the elder,but unto Ephraim,the younger.ltThus, he told

Josephthat his youngerson shouldbe greaterand that his See Tribes of lsrael Chart page 5 seedshould become a multitudeof nations.Without doubt, Ephraimwas scatteredamong the nations,and seems to have ABOUTTHE AUTHORS lost identity as a tribe except as people of Anglo Saxon WayneSimmons has servedthe churchsome yearsas heritagehave come into the RestoredGospel and havebeen 35 a priest, elder, seventy, President high priest shown lineagefrom Ephraim.lt has beensuggested that the of Seventy, and patriarch-evangelist.He spentmuch his word, Saxon, in old English,was derivedfrom the phrase of time in the Spanish- l-saac'sson.16 speakingarea of the church.Prior to World Churchappoint- ment in 1950,he as principal Lehi,the first Bookof Mormonprophet, obtained the Brass served of the LincolnSchool in Rica, director Platesand learnedby themthat hewas of Manasseh,Joseph's San Jose, Costa and of the AmericanCultural in olderson.17 We may thereforesuppose that many of the in- Center Caracas,Venezuela. digenouspeoples of Northand CentralAmerica are of the tribe He and his wife, Verneil, are keenly interestedin the ar- geography, of Manasseh.Indeed, many patriarchalblessings given to chaeology,history and and outreachto the Book of Mormon peoples.Brother is retired AmericanIndian members of the churchbear testimony of this Simmons now from World lives cranchof the houseof Josephas representedamong them. Churchappointment and at McAllen,Texas. Raymond Treat is The ReorganizedChurch of Jesus Christ of Latter Day an archaeologist specializing in Mesoamerica.He hasa Master'sdegree Saintsis definitelya divineenterprise in which Ephraimand in Anthropologyfrom the University of the Americas and has Vlanassehare calledtogether, here in the Americaswhich is completed the Joseph's land, to unite these two elementsto build up classworkfor a Ph.D.in Anthropologyat ArizonaState Univer- Joseph'sseed in the last days, bringingto pass many pro- sity. He excavatedthe siteof Vistahermosa,located in western rhecies.The churchas presentlyconstituted, seems referred Chiapas,Mexico, for the New World ArchaeologicalFounda- to as'Ephraimin certainprophecies. In Section108 of the Doc- tion. Uncoveredwas evidenceof an Olmecoccupation dating lrine and Covenants,people of the NorthernKingdom who to 1000B.C. He holdsthe officeof elderin the church. /veretaken captave by the Assyriansin 588B.C. are to makea 'eturn in the lastdays. They are to haveprophets who will res- WE GOOFED rond to God'scall and will cometo Zion: We inadvertentlylost the addressof Mrs. John N. Smith. lf And they shall bring forth their rich treasuresunto the childrenof anyonecan give us her correctaddress we would greatlyap- Ephraimmy servants.And the boundariesof the everlastinghills shall preciateit. trembleat theirpresence. And thenshallthey falldown and be crowned with glory,even in Zion,by the handsof the servantsof the Lord,even BACKISSUES AVAILABLE the children of Ephraim; and they shall be filled with songs of everlastingjoy. Sectron lo8:6c,d In case you missedthe first issue of the ZarahemlaRecord ln the next sectionof writing on lsraelin the latter days, I and would like a copy just drop a note to the Zarahemla proposeto deal with the questlonof the work of Lehi'sseed, ResearchFoundation, Box 881, McAllen, Texas 78501 and we will and with the stick of Joseph, or stick of Ephraim,which I sendyou one. The Zarahemla Record September 1978Page 5

Tribesof lsrael Jacob'sBlessing Moses'Blessing 1. Reuben: (Note:Because he violatedhis father'sconcubine, To becomenumerous in lastdays. he lost his birthrightto Joseph,Rachel's first- born.l Unstableas water, not to excel. 2. Simeon Instrumentof crueltylike Levi. (Nothingrecorded.) Dividedand scattered. 3. Levi Instrumentof crueltylike Simeon. Levi'sUrim and Thummimto go to "holy one" Dividedand scattered. (Christ?)To teachlsrael judgements, law and cove- nants.To be priests. 4. Judah As valiantlion. Sceptreand kinglyrights his, Valiantin prayer.To presideover needsof until Shiloh(Christ?). Strength and beauty. his people. To prosper. 5, Zebulun Seafarerand merchantman of sea. World traveler.To callpeople to kingdom.Riches of seasand sands. 6. lssachar Strongbeast of burden.Lazy. Easy to enslave. Samepromise as to Zebulun. 7. Dan To judge his people.Power to destroyadversaries A lion'swhelp who shall"leap from Bashan." as an adderagainst horseman. 8. Gad A troop to overcomehim but to triumphat last. Likea lion. Powerof intelligence.Comes as lawgiver andjudge. 9. Asher Posterityto be well-providedfor, and to yield Blessedwith children.Acceptable to his brethren. "royal dainties." His "foot dippedin oil." Shoesto be of iron and brass.Strong. 10. Naphtali Llkea looseddeer. Good counselor. Satiatedwith favor and with Lord's blessing.To possesswest and south. 11.Joseph Fruitful,to crosssea. Many persecutors.Aid from Joseph'sland, precious for the thingsof heaven, Christ.Blessings of heavenand of earth,.rf watersand thingsunder the earth.Fruits brought posterity.Greater blessings than givento Jacob's forth by sun and moon, and for chiefthings of progenitors.Separate from brethren. ancientmountains and preciousthings of ever- lastinghills. Horns as unicorn.To push people togetherto ends of the earth.Ten thousandsof Ephraimand thousandsof Manasseh.To possess birthright.la 12. Benjamin To raven as a wolf. To devour prey and divide Belovedof Lord. To dwell safelybeside him. To spoil. "cover him" and "dwell betweenhis shoulders."

4 PATRIARCHALVIEW OF ISRAEL From2 Kings17:6,23, Jeremiah 31:6-9, Hosea 7:11 and 8:8 and 9:3 and 10:6 and 11:3-5and 12:1.Northern Kingdom led away to Assyria. Bibliography 2 Esdrasl3:39-4U (Apocrypha) And whereasthou sawestthat he gathered anotherpeaceable multitude unto him; thoseare the ten tribes,which were {1) ChristianityToday, From TheseRoots, May 6, 1977 CherylForbes. carriedaway prisonersout of their own land in the time of Oseathe king, Page 24 whom Salmanasarthe king of Assyrialed away captive,and he carriedthem (2) Malachi4:5,6 overthe waters,and so camethey into anotherland. But theytook hiscounsel (3) Doctrineand CovenantsSection 26:2c and 95:3e amongthemselves, that theywould leavethe multitudeof the heathen,and go (4)Matthew 17:11-13 forth into a furthercountry, where never mankind dwelt, that they might keep (5) Exodus13:21 their statutes,which they neverkept in theirown land.And they enteredinto {6) Doctrineand Covenants,Section 125:3b Euphratesby the narrowpassages of the river. Forthe most High then shewed (7)Ephesians 2:11-13 signsfor them,and heldstill the flood, tillthey werepassed over. For through (8) Romans9:6 this countrythere was a greatway to go, namely,of a yearand a half:and the (9) Doctrineand Covenants,Section 1O4:18 sameregion is calledArsareth. Then dwelt they there until the lattertime; and (10)Doctrine and Covenants,Section 84:3a,b now when they shallbegin to come,the Highestshall stay the springsof the (11)Doctrine and Covenants,Section 83:6a-d streamagain, that they may go through: thereforesawest lhou the multitude (12)Genesis 48:13-20 and GenesistNf:1-27 with peace.(See 2 Kingsl8:9-12) (13) Deuteronomy33:6-25 For the fall of the SouthernKingdom see 2 Kings251-12 and2 Chronicles (14)1 Chronicles5:1 36:11-20.For their return from Babylon,beginning with the decreeof Dariusto (15)Jeremiah 31:9 rebuildthe temple,see Ezra1:1-4 and Ezra2:1-il. Returnto Jerusalem,Ezra 116lJudah's Sceptreand Joseph's Bifth-righf, J.H. Allen. P.294 l0:6-9. (17)1 Nephi1:165-168 and Alma 8:3 For referenceto captivity of Northern and Southern kingdoms,note the following: Page 6 The Zarahemla llecord SeptemDer tJ/d NeoTramlotlorv

AFTERTHE EARTHOUAKE Thereare two parallelsbetween the recentmajor earthquake in Guatemala and the upheaval which destroyed the unrighteouspart of the Nephite-Lamaniteculture at the timeof the crucifixionof Christ. First,similar areas were affected.Mesoamerica is'clearly the primaryarea for Book of Mormonhistory and Guatemalais in the centerof Mesoamerica. Secondly,there was a spiritualresponse to both upheavals. The ancient storm contributed to the spirit of repentance among the survivors.In like manner,Christians outside the RestorationMovement report a great spiritualrevival among the Guatemalanpeople since the 1976earthquake. ls there any significancein these two parallels?| believe thereis. Thereis a messagehere for us - a messageto prepare ourselvesfor a greaterwork. Let us heedthe messageof the Guatemalanearthquake and prepareourselves to makeproper useof the Book of Mormon(see Third Nephi12:1-5). Can we expectany lessspiritual power or miraclesthan experiencedby Alma and the sons of Mosiahas a resultof their concernover the spiritualwelfare of their Lamanitebrethren (who incidently were most likelylocated in an areawhich includespresent-day GuatemalaCity)? lchi Doeherc I SAA MEETING ( page 2) The annual meeting of the Society for American Ar- Continued-from chaeology,held in Tucson,Arizona, May 3-5 this year,was at- with the Book of Mormonaccount of the conversionof the re- tendedby Mary Leeand RayTreat for the ZarahemlaResearch mainingNephites-Lamanites and the beginningof theirGolden Foundation. The SAA is the leading organizationfor ar- Age. The glyphdates around 300 A.D. actuallymark the end, chaeologyin the New World. The three-daymeeting offers an not the beginningof the GoldenAge. opportunityfor archaeologiststo presentpapers on theoretical By A.D.231(Fourth Nephi 1:391, a divisionoccurred among topics and on their latest work. Attending these annual the people.As mentionedabove, the earliestglyph date known meetings is one of the best ways to keep up to date on the so far is A.D. 289. Again allowingfor the time lag, it is latest findings in archaeologywhich pertainto the Book of reasonableto accept the interpretationthat the hieroglyphic Mormon. lt is often years before much of this informationis stelae,which we now know give informationabout kingsand availablein publishedform. rulers, were the beginningof a Lamanitetradition of rulers As it turned out, the last sessionproved to be the most in- glorifyingthemselves. teresting. The sessionwas organizedaround the topic of Archaeologistshave developeda complex outline of the linguisticsand archaeology.A reporton recentresearch in the culture history of Mesoamericawith reasonablyaccurate Mixteca Alta, located in the northern part of the state of Oax- dates. aca, Mexico, demonstrateda correlationbetween linguistic The Book of Mormonis alsoan outlineof the culturalhistory and ceramic boundaries during the Postclassic(A.D. of Mesoamericawith reasonablyprecise dates, from an entirely 900-15f1\.The combinationof ceramicsand linguisticsis one of independentsource. the more excitingareas of study for correlatingthe outlinesof The many pointsof correlationbetween the two outlinesgo the Book of Mormon and Mesoamericanarchaeology. beyondthe realmof chance.This type of correlation,as stated in introduction, presently Linguisticsis an importantline of evidencein Mesoamerican the representsthe strongest available information archaeology.Articles describing the qontributionof linguisticsto supportingthe Book of Mormon. Obviously,the presently a better substantiationof the Book of Mormon will appearin explosion of information coming forth from produce future issues. Mesoamericanarchaeology will more detailsto fill in the broadoutline in the nearfuture. The Zarahemla Record September 1978 Page 7 WHEATAND BARLEY: PROBLEMOR OPPORTUNITY The Book of Mormon statesthat wheat, barleyand other OldWorld food sourceswere available in the NewWorld (See Mosiah6:12, 1 Nephi5:216, Ether 4:19-2Q1. However, there has'beenno archaelolgicalevidence up to now that any of theseOld World food sourceswere presentin the New World priorto Europeancontact in the 1500's.Herein lies a problem and an opportunity.While this seemingdiscrepancy may be a problemto some,it does,in fact, representone of the Lord's greatestopportu nities. In order to properlyevaluate this questionthe following aspectswill be discussed:(1) the limitationsof archaeologyin regardto identifyingfood, (2) pollenand phytoliths- tools of identificationand (3) divinetiming.

Carbonized seeds from Vistahermosa, Chiapos, Mexico. ARCHAEOLOGYAND FOOD estimatelaateffi B.c, The first limitationon the recoveryof food-remainsin Mesoamericanarchaeology is the scarcityof the evidence. Organicmaterial such as food-remains,baskets and clothing POLLENAND PHYTOLITHS quickly decay in the tropicalclimate characteristic of most Palynology,or the study of pollen grains,is a scientific parts of Mesoamerica.The best preservationoccurs in dry disciplineover a hundredyears old. Pollengrains are made up caves.Elsewhere preservation is almostnon-existent. of a cellulose-likematerial that is practicallyindestructible. A secondlimitation until recentlyhas been a relativelack of Becausethe pollengrains of most plantgenera or speciesare interest in recoveryof food-remains.In ClassicMaya ar- orstinctiveenough to be recognized,they representan ex- chaeology,for example,the emphasis has traditionally been on cellent tool for the reconstructionof past vegetationand hieroglyphs,stone architecture,and more recentlyon settle- climate.Archaeology has benefited a greatdeal from the study mentpatterns (the way in whichbuildings are arranged on the of pollenfrom archaeologicalsites. However, pollen grains of the landscape).Much previouslyoverlooked information is now grassfamily generaand speciesare so much alike that their beinguncovered since there is a greateremphasis on finding identificationhas not been worked out to any degree of out how the Maya producedenough food to sustaintheir satisfaction.The grass family includes all the cerealgrains such civilization. aswheat and barley. lf wheatpollen grains were found in an ar- A third limitationis relatedto what is calledresearch design chaeologicalsite, it would be impossibleto identifythem as in archaeology.A researchdesign is simplya planfor an ex- wheat. Phytolithsprovide a solutionto this problem. cavation.Excavations are undertaken with specificproblems in Phytolithsare fossilized plant cells of silicon.Silicon is taken rnind.No project,no matterhow large,has the timeor money up by the plantin solution.The plantcannot utilize silicon so it to recoverall of the availableinformation from a site.The type is depositedin the cells,mostly in the leafcells, where it takes of problemdetermines how the excavationwill be carriedout on the shapeof the cell walls. Like pollengrains, plant cells and what kindsof informationwill be sought.lf the research havedistinctive shapes and when the plant diesand decom- designimplies, for example,that wheatwas not known in the posesthe phytolithsretain their shapeand becomepart of the New World (whichis the currentassumption in archaeology) soil.Phytoliths are so numerousthat they can makeup to two then ancientwheat will not be looked for and hence not percentof the soil by weight. Theiruse hasbeen pioneered by recognized.lf somegrains of wheatare actually found, it is all soil scientistsand has interestedsome archaeologists.As you too easyto say that they were depositedby a modernrodent may havealready guessed, the greatestpromise in the use of and let the matter go at that. Archaeologyis not a precise phytolithsfor identificationhas been found to be with the grass scienceand much of the evidenceis subjectto interpretation. family. Thus we havethe scientificmeans of identificationof A primeexample of how a faulty researchdesign can hamper wheat now becomingpossible. the collectionof archaeologicalinformation was brieflyalluded to above.The traditionalview hasbeen that the ClassicMaya producedmost of their food in shiftingfields calledmilpa agriculture.The work at Tikalin Guatemalademonstrated that TIMING the ClassicMaya populationwas too high to be supported It is not unresponsibleto say that it is only a matterof time primarily by this type of agriculture (see The Zarahemla beforeevidence from phytolithsand possiblyother sources will Record,lssue No. 1). This informationforced the research demonstrateto the scientificcommunity and the world that the designabout Maya agricultureto be changed.As a result, New World did makeuse of Old World food sources.This will somelong-held ideas about Classic Maya archaeology are be- indeedbe a dramatictestimony in supportof the Book of Mor- ing discarded.The new ideasare more in harmonywith the mon. Book of Mormon. (Continuedon page 8l Page 8 The Zarahemla Record September 1978 August 1978

Wheat Continued from page 7 Forthe present we arestill living under the principles of Third Nephi12:3-5: And when they shall have receivedthis, which is expedientthat they DO YOU WANT TO RECEIVE THE NEXT should have first, to try their faith, and if it shall so be that they shall believethese things, then shallthe groaterthings be mademanifest un- ISSUES OF THE ZARAHEMLA RECORD? to them. And if it so be that they will not believethese things, then shall the greater things be withheld from them, unto their condomnation. The Zarahemla Record is mailed to all eontributors to the Behold I was about to writ€ them all which wers sngravenupon the Zarahemla Researeh Foundation. There will be three pfates Nephi, but the Lord forbid it, I will the faith my of saying try of issues of The Record this year and four are planned for the people;therefore l, Mormon, do write the thingswhich hav6been com- mandedme of tho Lord. sueceeding year.

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