In this final and concluding look at John R’s
January 2014 rebuttal of our March 1, 2011 article series on Mesoamerica, we
pick up where he, like most Mesoamericanists, lay claim to the Olmec as being
the Jaredites as proof of the Mesoamerica Land of Promise. Much of this was
discussed in the last post, but we continue here:
The area of Soconusco is in the southeast corner of Chiapas, Mexico, along the Guatemala border. Obviously, this is far into the Mesoamericanists' Land Southward, where the Olmecs never settled according to the scriptural record
As stated earlier,
the Olmec, if they were Jaredites, would not have settled south of the narrow
neck of land (east in your alignment). Nor can you hold on to the misconception
that the Olmec settled in the north and moved south, since there are numerous
indicators that a vigorous movement in the opposite direction—toward the north
(actually west)—was going on at precisely this time, in which case the
so-called Olmec influence must have been a native-born development emanating
from Soconusco itself (along the southern coast of Chiapas near the Guatemala
border in the Mesoamericanist’s Land Southward).
In fact, according to
Michael Blake and Michael D. Coe, all of the jadeite
(Jade) and almost all the Obsidian found in the Olmec sites is from Guatemalan
sources, particularly from the piedmont region of southern Chiapas, often
referred to as the Soconusco, and according to Raymond V. Sidrys and Frank
Asaro, more specifically from the Guatemalan highlands (Tamumulco, El Chayal,
Ixtepeque, and San Martin Jilotepeque)—For clarification, El Chayal and
Ixtepeque are along the eastern border of Guatemala separating that country from Honduras.
Early peoples of the Americas considered jade more valuable
than gold and silver. The Olmecs, the great sculptors of the pre-Columbian era,
carved jades into delicate human forms and scary masks. Mayan kings and other
royalty often went to their graves with jade suits, rings and necklaces. The
living had their teeth inlaid with the colored gems; yet there is no mention of Jade or any precious stone like it in the scriptural record where gold, silver and copper are frequently identified
“And
they did preserve the land southward for a wilderness, to get game” (Ether
10:21). It is interesting that the Jaredites never went into the Land
Southward, except to hunt—“And in the days of Lib the poisonous serpents were
destroyed. Wherefore they did go into the land southward, to hunt food for the
people of the land, for the land was covered with animals of the forest. And
Lib also himself became a great hunter” (Ether 10:19)—yet, here we have Olmec
cities in the Land Southward, and they obtained their Jade and Obsidian from
deep into the Land Southward, and their influence was all over the land
Southward, and in fact, several Olmec-Mayan experts think the Olmec originated
in what is the Mesoamericanists’ Land Southward.
Not finished with this, though, is the fact that Izapa,
along the Chiapas coast, was the extension of the Olmec civilization and prior
to the Maya, having major centers from 1500 B.C. that lasted for about 1000
years. Izapa is on the Chiapas, Mexico-Guatemala border, almost 400 miles south (actually east) of Mesoamericanists’ narrow
neck of land.
In the southwest corner of Chiapas, both
Soconusco and Izapa were early Olmec sites. Both areas are about 400 miles from
the Narrow Neck and clearly in opposition to Ether’s record stating the
Jaredites never occupied the Land Southward, but kept it as a reserve for
hunting
Now we come to the
famous Mexican archaeologist Ignacio Bernal, in his The Olmec World
(University California Press, 1969), “The climatic station of Villahermosa is
typical of the Gulf coastal plain of eastern Mexico, the region Bernal has
termed the "Olmec metropolitan area,” and Nigel Davies, the eminent
British writer and archeologist maintains that the Olmec eventually were found
all over Mesoamerica, saying “they were present in almost every region.” It is
in Villahermosa that the Parque—Museo de
La Venta, the Olmec Archaeological Park and museum is located (this is
different from the La Venta Archaeological Site near Huimanguillo—which are
merely plastic reproductions of the original stone carvings), considered the
heart of the Olmec metropolitan area.
Villahermosa is well within the area of the
Mesoamericanists Land Southward, yet another indication of the difference
between the Olmecs as Jaredites and the Ether record of the Jaredites
Another consideration
is that M. D. Coe, who has been involved in and written on both the Olmec and
Maya, in his Olmec Jaguar and Olmec Kings
(Dumbarton Oaks, 1972) said that “the beliefs of the Maya were of Olmec origin
and that the pre-Maya were Olmecs.” However, in the scriptural record, we find
that the Nephites were completely unaware of the Jaredite civilization until
king Mosiah I interpreted Coriantumr’s writing the last Jaredite survivor carved on a large stone kept by
the people of Zarahemla (the Mulekites), nor can it be said they were
influenced or knew the Jaredites, for the people of Zarahemla had no idea who
Coriantumr was nor his people until Mosiah, around 200 B.C., interpreted the
writing (Omni 1:20-22).
Thus, it cannot be
claimed that the Olmec influenced and were the forerunners of the Nephites or
the Mulekites, which they would have to be if Mesoamerica was Lehi’s landing
site as you and other Mesoamericanists claim.
In addition, Brainerd
and Sharer “found colonial Olmec at Maya sites,” and Schele and Freidel
believed that “the monumental structures of the Maya were derived from Olmec
prototypes,” and Olmec jaguar masks were found under Mayan pyramids (two in
Guatemala and one in Belize) far into their Nephite lands south (actually east)
of their narrow neck of land, all showing a definite interaction between Olmec
and Maya, yet the Jaredites were completely gone by the time Mosiah learned of
the Jaredites, and again, were never in the Land Southward, and the Mulekites
knew only of Coriantumr, who they knew nothing about and not until Mosiah
interpreted the stone Coriantumr wrote upon did they know who he was and who
his people were (Omni 1:20-22).
Yellow Arrow: Isthmus of Tehuantepec; Blue
Line: the Narrow Neck—making all the lands to the east (right) the
Mesoamericanists’ Land Southward; White Arrow: the modern country of Belize;
Red Arrow: Guatemala. As can be seen, these areas are deep into their Land
Southward contrary to the scriptural record
In fact, showing how
far off from the scriptural record the Mesoamericanist is regarding the Olmec
being the Jaredites, we find that “dominating Central America over a millennium
before the Mayans and over two millennium before the Aztecs were present in
Central America a people called the Olmecs reigned supreme. Their civilization
reigned over Mexico's Yucatan peninsula and their influence extended throughout
Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, Costa Rica, and El Salvador.”
Yellow Arrow: Isthmus of Tehuantepec; Blue
Line: the Narrow Neck; White Arrow: Honduras; Red Arrow: El Salvador; Green
Arrow: Nicaragua and further is Costa Rica. As can be seen, these areas are very deep into
their Land Southward, 1200 miles to Costa Rica where the Olmecs were, contrary to the scriptural
record
This inarguably places the Olmec
deep in the Mesoamerican Land Southward, contrary to the scriptural record, which should in and of itself eliminate Mesoamerica as a possible Land of Promise site.
In addition, as found
in Olmecs: A Mesoamerican Wonder by
Kimberly Lavin, “The Olmec were believed to be in existence during the
Preclassic era, from 1200 - 100 B.C. This Indian group is thought to be the
oldest of the Mesoamericans, that we know. The Olmecs had their home among
three major cities: La Venta in Tabasco, Laguna de los Cerros in Veracruz, and
San Lorenzo in Tenochtitlan. The Olmec influence went much furthur though. It
spread through Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, Costa Rica, and El Salvador.”
In fact, one of the
Olmec colossal heads was found in the foothills of the Guatemala coast at Takalik Abaj (John Graham, Olmec Diffusion: a Sculptural
View from Pacific Guatemala, Cambridge University, 1989, pp 231-32), and David
Hatcher Childress in his The Mystery of
the Olmecs, states: “Olmec artifacts [have been] found along the Pacific
coast of Chiapas and Guatemala…it is now known that the Land [of the Olmec]
spread from the Central Valley to the La Venta area and to the Pacific coast of
the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and even further south along the Pacific into
Guatemala to El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.” He also wrote: “While we
have found small statuettes of Olmec figures in Costa Rica, it is in Guatemala
that the largest statues and stone heads are to be found. Some of these rival
the colossal heads found on the Gulf Coast in sheer size and skill of
workmanship.” To make sure this is understood, all of Guatemala, El Salvador, Belize, etc., are in the Mesoamericanists' Land Southward--contrary to the scriptural record.
Charles Gallenkamp in
his Mayas: The Riddle and Rediscovery of a Lost Civilization, states: “Olmec
culture is known mainly from three important ruins: La Venta, Tres Zapotes, and
San Lorenso…their influence was extremely widespread. Unmistakably Olmec Traits
are found in archaeological sites extending from the Valley of Mexico to El
Salvador, and some authorities view the Olmec as a kind of ‘Mother Culture’
that played a vital role in stimulating the Rise of Civilization throughout the
area.”
Lynn V. Foster, in his A Brief History of Central America
writes about the Olmec in the Guatemala highlands as well as being in Chiapas
and Oaxaca, all south (east) of the Mesoamericanists’ narrow neck of land—that
is, in their Land Southward. And a recent analysis
made to the 4th Offering of La Venta
(a treasure reunited in the Museum of National Anthropology),
coordinated by Diana Magalolni and Laura Filloy, have allowed investigators to
discover evidence suggesting that the ancient Olmec civilization, that
flourished in the Gulf of Mexico, reached a territorial and commercial
expansion much bigger than what had been originally thought, since it’s
believed they were in contact with Guatemala, Guerrero and Oaxaca--which would b in the Land Southward.
We could go on with
numerous commentaries by archaeologists and anthropologists regarding the
presence of Olmec far to the east of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (the
Mesoamericanists’ Land Southwasrd), but the point should be well made here. The
Olmec could not have been the Jaredites, for the scriptural record makes it
quite clear that they never settled in the Land Southward, nor is there any
record of any interaction between the Jaredites and the other groups in the
scriptural record.
Mesoamerica is simply not the Land of Promise of the Book of Mormon!
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