Change in Amazon Climate 2000 Years Ago – Part I

About two-thousand years ago, the disciple Nephi wrote “in the thirty and fourth year, in the first month, on the fourth day of the month, there arose a great storm, such a one as never had been known in all the land. And there was also a great and terrible tempest; and there was terrible thunder, insomuch that it did shake the whole earth as if it was about to divide asunder” (3 Nephi 8:5-6). He then followed with a detailed description of the terrible destruction that occurred throughout the Land Southward of the Land of Promise, adding, “But behold, there was a more great and terrible destruction in the land northward; for behold, the whole face of the land was changed, because of the tempest and the whirlwinds and the thunderings and the lightnings, and the exceedingly great quaking of the whole earth” (3 Nephi 8:12).
    It has been claimed in this blog, that at this time, what is now the great continent of South America, then mostly submerged beneath the sea, was lifted upward by the colliding of the two tectonic plates—the Nazca Plate and the South America Plate—in which the Nazca Plate subducted beneath the South America Plate along the Pacific Ocean basin off the coast of South America. This ongoing subduction, along the Peru-Chile Trench not only lifted the Andes Mountains thousands of feet upward, as geologists claim, but also tilted the western half of what is now the known continent along a north-south line as the entire South American Plate rose upward over the subducting Nazca Plate.

Peru-Chile (Atacama) Trench in Richards Deep in the eastern Pacific Ocean off the coast of South America

This converging boundary, or meeting of the two plates, forced the western rim of the continental South American Plate upward, over the subducting (downward) eastern edge of the oceanic Nazca Plate, forming the forty-mile-wide Peru-Chile Trench, which is about one-hundred miles off the coast of Peru and Chile, reaching a maximum depth of 26,460 feet and running north to south about 3,666 miles in length.
    This trench is the result of a convergent boundary, where the eastern edge of the oceanic Nazca Plate is being driven beneath the continental South American Plate, and delineates the boundary between the subducting and overriding plates, with two seamount ridges, the Nazca Ridge and the Juan Fernández Ridge entering the subduction zone along the trench. In addition, the Peru–Chile Trench, the forearc –the region between the trench and the volcanic arc—and the western edge of the central Andean plateau, or Altiplano, delineate the dramatic "Bolivian Orocline" that defines the Andean slope of southern Peru, northern Chile, and Bolivia.
    Speaking of this subduction and its effects, Dr. Margaret A. Reitz of the Department of Geological Sciences, New York College at Geneseo, states: “The association between forearc basins and slip during subduction thrust earthquakes suggests a link between processes controlling upper plate structure and seismic coupling on the subduction-zone thrust fault” (The Structural evolution of the Calabrian Forearc, Research Gate, Berlin, February 2016). 
     Scientist of Geophysics, Dr. Orlando Alvarez, at the National University of San Juan’s Institute of Geological Seismology, says that the properties of the lower plate were main factors for controlling seismogenic behavior at the plate interface, and particularly the structure of the continental crustal thickness and the state and properties of the mantle wedge beneath the crustal forearc were identified to be important parameters between the upper and lower plates, for the extent of the seismogenic zone, and finally for the occurrence of large earthquakes (Tectonics of the Argentine and Chilean Andes, Research Gate, Berlin Germany, January 2015). Agreeing with this, is hydrologist Christopher W. Fuller, who states: “Due to tectonic stresses as one tectonic plate rides over another, forearc regions are sources for great thrust earthquakes (ColinW. Fuller, et al., "Formation of Forearc Basins and their Influence on Subduction Zone Earthquakes,” Geological Society of America, Geologic Survey of America, vol.34, U.S. Government Agency, 2006, pp65–68).

The Volcanic Arc System of tectonic components in plate tectonics, which is the theory that the outer rigid layer of the earth (the lithosphere) is divided into a couple of dozen "plates" that move around across the earth's surface relative to each other, like slabs of ice on a lake

This, then was obviously the cause of what the disciple Nephi describes in 3 Nephi 8. In fact, one can only wonder at the enormous magnitude of this disruption of the earth and landforms during this period when the normal longevity of such an event was increased by the Lord and folded into a three-hour time frame (3 Nephi 8:19).
    Now, having shown the accuracy of the uplifting event of the inner continental South America plate, we should be able to identify some of the effects of the two-thousand-year old rising of the continent. The first is that of the Amazon Basin, which was submerged before the uplift, flanked to the west by the raised Andean Shelf, and the east by both the Brazilian and Guiana Shields. To understand what happened in South America, especially for those who disregard the inner continental area rising above the surface during the Andean Uplift, such as John L. Sorenson who ridicules the idea of South America once being submerged and only an island appeared above the surface, it is important to recognize the geologic factors involved.
    So for those who may not understand the significant of a “craton,” which are generally found in the interiors of tectonic plates, and is the very old geologic formation at the core of the continent, and refers to an old and stable part of the continental lithosphere (the rigid outer part of the earth), consisting of the earth’s two topmost layers, the crust and the mantle. The term is used to distinguish the stable portion of the continental crust from regions that are more geologically active and unstable.
    In addition, cratons have thick lithospheric roots, which seismic waves (tomography) shows are underlain by anomalously cold mantle that is twice the typical 60-mile thickness of mature oceanic or non-cratonic, continental lithosphere.  At that depth, craton roots extend into the asthenosphere, and are distinctly different from oceanic lithosphere because cratons have a neutral or positive buoyancy, and a low intrinsic isopycnic density—which offsets density increasers due to geothermal contraction and prevents the craton from sinking into the deep mantle, while the buoyancy causes it to move toward the surface as it cools, though its roots are far into the asthenosphere.
    In addition, cratons are sometimes described as “shields,” in which the basement rock crops (appears) at the surface, and platforms, in which the basement is overlaid by sediments and sedimentary rock, emerges (there are several cratons in the world: the North American or Laurentia Craton, the North China Craton, the Sarmatian Craton in Russia and Ukraine, the Kaapvaal Craton in South Africa, and the Grawler Craton in South Australia).

The geologic makeup of the continental area of South America before the Andean Uplift, in which the Andes Mountains rose to their great height and the inner continental area was submerged, particularly the low-lying sediment basins

Thus, before the inner continent of South America rose during the Andean Uplift, these shields overriding areas of the craton below, were visible above the surface, and appeared in some cases as steep sided islands. It is these two in the east, the Guiana and Brazil shields, that were evidently seen by the Portuguese sailors who had been lost at sea far west of Africa in B.C. times.
    As can be seen, the Guyana Shield forms upon the northern Amazonian Craton, which is separated by the Amazon Basin between the Andean Foreland Basins and the Atlantic Ocean (Amazon River Mouth), and the Brazil Shield forms upon the southern Amazonian Craton. Both shields, or platforms, would have been visible above the surface anciently, before the Andean Uplift, as well as the Andean Belt area along most of the west coast of South America. Further along the east, the Sáo Francisco Craton is surrounded by the Brasiliano Belt. Now, except for small craton areas that may have grown into surfaced platforms, such as the Sao Louis, Rio Apa, La Plata, Luiz Alves, and the Sao Francisco, the vast area north of the Patgonian Platform and the south Chilean Islands, was a massive ara of low-lying, sedidment-filled areas called the Amazon, Chaco Basin, Paraná, Panaiba and Saolimōes basins.
    At the time Lehi arrived at Coquimbo Bay in central Chile, these basins were filled with seas named by geologists as the Amazon Sea, Pebasian Sea, Paranense Sea and the Paranan Sea, including the Amazon and Tethy Arms of these inner seas. When the Andean Uplift occurred, causing an upward tilt along what is now the eastern coastal area of South America, and the Forward and upward thrust along the west coastal area, pushing into the coast and uplifting the mountains, and the inner basins, these seas drained through the north, east, and south portals into what is now the Atlantic Ocean.
    Consequently, that brings us to the rising area now referred to as the Amazon Basin, an area about the size of the continental United States.
(See the next post, “Change in Amazon Climate 2000 Years Ago – Part II, regarding what climatologists and environmental scientists have learned about the Amazon Basin and the appearance of the rain forest and current flora and fauna of the area)

Buena Vista and Chankillo: Oldest Peruvian Observatories – Part III

Continued from the previous post regarding what additionally was found at Buena Vista and what it had to do with the early Peruvians who settled this area.
    As has been stated, early settlers in an area, especially one completely void of any previous landmarks or sky-views, would automatically require a way to determine the dates, specifically the planting and harvesting seasons in order to provide for food over the long term, especially to provide for an upcoming winter, when game is not plentiful and starvation looms on the horizon. This is difficult for most modern people to think much about its importance since almost anyone today can obtain food quite easily throughout the year at the corner grocery store or vast supermarkets.
    However, when Lehi landed, the first thing they would have done is explore their area for a suitable place for planting, particularly near drinkable and potable water. Once that was done, then they would have sent out hunting parties to obtain immediate food while others tilled the ground and planted the seeds they brought from Jerusalem. In addition, they would have done some exploring of the vicinity of their landing and settlement site to ascertain what dangers might present themselves, what natural resources were available, such as a sustained water supply and timber for whatever building they intended, and means for shelter beyond their tents over a longer term.
    To determine when to plant, they would have to know such things as time of the year, weather conditions in the land they settled, when the solstices would occur so they could anticipate the changing of the seasons in this new land. Assuming they landed in Chile, they would have been in the Southern Hemisphere, thus around June 20 to 22 is when the Winter Solstice arrived, or the shortest day of the year.

The Winter Solstice, known as hibernal solstice or as midwinter, would have occurred in mid-year in the Southern Hemisphere for Lehi rather than in December to which he was more familiar, which means their entire planting regime had to be changed from what had been the winter to now what had been the summer months

While Lehi had been used to the winter months of January to April being what the ancients often referred to as the “famine months,” now the Nephites had to switch to July to October as those winter famine months. In addition, early man considered the reversal of the ebbing of the Sun as the time of rebirth when the “year was reborn” and celebrations often occurred in the spring, which was in March-April, but now would be in September-October.
    We point this out to suggest why it would have been so important for early man in South America (or anywhere in the Americas) to have concentrated on such matters as the astronomical calendar of their time, and why early observatories were built, regardless of their apparent simplicity or later complexity. Knowing when to plant was the difference between having food for the next winter or starving.
    In South America, September, of course, would be when the Spring Equinox occurred, or when the sun crossed the Equator moving southward, in the Southern Hemisphere. Since this would have been reversed from the Northern Hemisphere where Lehi and his party originated in Jerusalem, they would have had to reverse their orientation to the seasons—no doubt that first year would have been somewhat of a mystery to them. One can only wonder if the Liahona played any part in this period of change for Lehi.
    It is also something that modern man exploring the past, such as archaeologists and anthropologists, have to keep in mind and thus concentrate on seeing the sky and agricultural events from a different point of view for those who themselves originate in the Northern Hemisphere. This was not apparent to those who discovered the site at Buena Vista, since the Temple of the Fox faced a large hill which blocked off 26 degrees of the eastern sky. It appeared at first that the ancient Peruvians would have needed to focus on something other than the sun breaking the horizon because, quite simply, they couldn’t see to the horizon. However, the following year, in 2005, archaeologist Benfer and archaeologist Bernardino Ojeda of Peru's National Agrarian University, who have been working at Buena Vista for four years,l along with his team, and his team extended their excavations and made another series of discoveries in a building just south west of the Temple of the Fox.

The Menacing head disc, flanked by two foxes, was at the center of a 20-foot-long mud sculpture, which directly faced the setting sun at winter solstice

The entire site contains ruins dating from many thousands of years ago to well into the ceramic era in the first millennium B.C., with the large pyramid and a temple occupying about 2 acres near the center of the site. In the building facing West, they discovered a sculpture they entitled the “menacing disc” which appeared to them as an image of an unhappy Sun. The menacing disc faced west toward a 300-foot-long platform on the ridge of a mountain on the other side of the valley in which Buena Vista sat, and ultimately towards the winter solstice sunset in June. The platform was covered in ash that had worked its way into the surrounding soil. To scientists, this suggested that fires, perhaps ceremonial ones, had once been set there. 
    With this discovery, the team could then see that the full temple covered both solstices: the menacing disc faced the winter solstice sunset and the fox mural faced the summer solstice sunrise. To Benfer, the entire complex was an agricultural calendar. Inside the temple, the archaeologists found bits of cotton and burned twigs, which they knew were the remains of ancient sacrifices. By testing the carbon in the cotton and twigs, they found that the temple was in use around 2200 BC. Also was a special chamber for offerings, with the doorway directly facing a large, carved rock on the horizon. The carving resembles a human face in profile, and to someone who looked out of the chamber's door on the summer solstice, which is the longest day of the year, the sun would appear to set behind the carved face. In Peru, that solstice is December 21.
    It should be noted that in temperate latitudes, observers use constellations to identify celestial movements. In South America where the Milky Way is often high in the sky, people have constructed figures in the dark patches in the Milky Way to identify celestial movements. Contemporary dark cloud figures include the Llama, the Turtle, and the Fox. Using astronomical software, Benfer’s team discovered that the Sun is in the Fox on December 21, the summer solstice.
    On December 21, 4,000 years ago the Fox rose about 3 hours before the Sun. A distinctive asterism in the constellation Scorpius preceded it. Ancient priest/astronomers were able to watch the rising of the Fox as a harbinger of the summer solstice. The team suggests that these dark patches (actually dark clouds) in the Milky Way might have been used as a herald of the Sun’s rising.

It would have been a most valuable benefit to the Nephites to have this knowledge of such astronomical events to aid them in their planting and harvesting, certainly the Fox has been associated with plant cultivation and irrigation. Around the summer solstice, melting glaciers high in the Andes cause the Chillon River to flood. The rising of the Fox then would signal the optimum time to plant. Winter solstice obviously marked harvest time. 
    Within the Temple of the Fox, are engineered astronomical calendar specifically adjusted for the needs of its setting. It was in operation, based on radiocarbon dating of offerings made there, in 2,200 BC. That compares with Stonehenge, built in 2,500 BC. Other American observatories are much later, for example the Olmec sites are dated to 3,000 years ago (1000 BC). Observatories at Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, Cahokia, IL, Medicine Wheel, Wyoming, and Casa Grande, Arizona, are dated only to 1,000 years ago.
     Obviously, there can be no question from all that has been uncovered and radiocarbon dated that both Chankillo and Buena Vista are the oldest astronomical observatories in the Western Hemisphere.

Buena Vista and Chankillo: Oldest Peruvian Observatories – Part II

Continued from the previous post regarding the continuation of  Chankillo, and the ancient Buena Vista observatory.
    Anciently, calendars of the world were set by observations of the Sun and Moon, marking the day, month and year, and were important to agricultural societies. Such information was essential, for a harvest depended on knowing when to plant at the correct time of the year. It was also essential for early man to know when the moon would rise and set, when it would wax and wane (Gibbous moon) and wax and wane (Crescent Moon), since the moon was the only lighting available anciently for outside the home work or travel into night-time markets, or distant travel (Martin P. Nilsson, Primitive Time-Reckoning: A Study in the Origins and Development of the Art of Counting Time among the Primitive and Early Culture Peoples, Writings published by Kungl, Humanist Science Society, Lund Sweden, vol.12, Is.4-5, CWK Gleerup, 1920).

Obviously, when the Nephites reached the Land of Promise, they would not have had any of the usual landmarks or skies or constellations or even stars familiar to them, consequently it would have been important to create observable areas where certain astronomical events could be noted and recorded for constant usage, such as for planting and harvesting. After all, the Sumerians of Mesopotamia were dividing a circle into 360º and an hour into 60 minutes long before Lehi’s time. In addition, knowledge of astronomical phenomena were periodic and therefore could be measured through the year had been developed by the Babylonians, again long before Lehi’s time. The Hebrews would also have been well aware that the measurement of frequency of Babylonian observations were both measured and understood as early as 747 BC during the reign of Nabonassar. Even calendars had been established dring the 3^rd millennium BC (Pierre-Yves Bely; Carol Christian; Jean-René Roy, A Question and Answer Guide to Astronomy, Cambridge University Press, UK, 2010, p197).
    As stated in the previous post, Chankillo, was an observatory built in coastal Peru during the last half of the last century BC, when the early Nephites were in the Land of Promise. Several other observatories have also been located in Peru, many dating from that early time period. Chankillo is one of those observatories that has been well studied by numerous archaeologists over the years since it was first reported by explorers Ephraim G. Squier and Antonio Middendorf, and naturalist Antonio Raimondi, in the late 19th century. In the early 20th century C.V. Roosevelt, Julio C. Tello, Alfred L. Kroeber, D. Collier, and Donald E. Thompson discussed its function and chronology, but Rosa Fung and Victor Pimentels’ synthesis of their 1968-69 excavations remains the most comprehensive description of the site. Later, Thomas Pozorski, John R. Topic, and D. J. Wilson reported it in their surveys. Since 2001, Iván Ghezzi has led the investigations of the Chankillo Archaeological Project, which currently has a consensus on the date and function of the most significant features, that is the Fortress and the Thirteen Towers.

Location of the two Observatories: Chankillo and Buena Vista in relationship to Lima (Zarahemla) Peru. Note Chankillo is along the coastal desert strip, and Buena Vista is in the foothills of the Andes
The site is located in the coastal landscape of Peru, one of the world’s driest desert areas, 227-miles north of Lima and 9-miles from the Pacific coast. Lying to the west of the Andes mountain range, this landscape of foothills, valleys, and plains has remained geologically stable for thousands of years. The site itself lies adjacent to the irrigated and fertile southern branch of the Casma-Sechin river basin, amidst rock outcrops and sand ramps, near the rugged foothills of the western slopes of the Andes. Like many other coastal valleys, the Casma-Sechin basin has long been an ‘oasis’ for settlement in an otherwise inhospitable desert.
   The Chankillo observatory consists of a row of 13 towers that precisely tracked solar movement throughout the year. When viewed from two main observation points, the sun would have reached one end of the tower line at the winter solstice and the other end at the summer solstice. The regularly spaced gaps between each tower could have been used to divide the year into even shorter intervals of 10 to 12 days.
    Ghezzi and his colleagues found one of the main observation points near a pair of courtyards about 220 yards west of the towers. A long white corridor, accessible from one of the courtyards, opened onto a view of the towers. This opening lacked proper structure for affixing a door, which led the researchers to identify it as a clear, unobstructed vantage point. Additionally, pottery and artifacts that could have served as ritualistic offerings surrounded this opening but no others.

The various areas in Peru where ancient observatories have been uncovered by archaeologists

In addition, the ancient Peruvians had an observatory at Machu Picchu, Sacsayhuaman at Cuzco, Espiritu Pampa in Vilcabamba, and Nazca among others, including Buena Vista—a 20acre archaeological site located about 25 miles inland in the Chillon River Valley It is also located about an hour's drive north of Lima, in the Santa Rosa de Quives District, Canta Province, in the foothills of the Andes, about eight miles from El Paraiso. It is the oldest observatory in the Americas (Thomas H. Maugh II, “Celestial Find at Ancient Andes,” Los Angeles Times, May 14, 2006). The observatory is believed to be 4,200 years old, and carbon dated to 1880 to 2040 BC, that has marked the summer and winter solstices, and is as old as the stone pillars of Stonehenge.
    Archaeologists from Peru and the University of Missouri, led by Robert Benfer discovered an ancient temple at Buena Vista situated on a bleak, rock-strewn hill, on top of a stepped pyramid 33 feet tall over-looking a fertile valley watered by the Chillon River. The valley was preserved for agriculture with dwellings and other permanent structures built on unproductive hillsides. The Team found a fox mural on the inside of the temple on top of the pyramid, and named the structure “The Temple of the Fox.”
    This observatory was built on the top of the pyramid with precise astronomical alignments and sight lines that provide an astronomical calendar for agriculture, according to biological anthropologist Robert Benfer of the University of Missouri said. He added that: “In 2005 we excavated a second temple, in 2007 a third, both with additional astronomical alignments.”

Archaeological field-walking is a systematic exploration of an area by a team of investigators, walking, collecting, and recording surface artifacts or noting earthworks and other phenomena as they moved across a field or zone

Since then, Benfer claims their pedestrian surveys (primary method of current survey archaeology of field-walking) revealed a large number of complex alignments, many with multiple reference points, some reference points themselves describing another alignment. Befer said that “continuing this work at two other sites on the ground, we found rich sets of alignments in two other sites of similar age.” In fact, Benfer claims that Google Earth reveals that most early Peruvian coastal valley sites may have similar alignments.
    However, the early Peruvians who built the observatory—three millenniums before the emergence of the Incas—remain a mystery, but it is obvious they achieved a level of art and science that archeologists believed was unknown in the region for almost 1000 years later.
    Using a surveyor’s transit to measure the azimuth from due north between the Temple and the surrounding hills, they found that at 114º the transit pointed to a large stone which appeared to have been carved to show a human face. Turned to 180º (the transit pointed to a platform on the surrounding hills on which evidenced the fires of an ancient people. Because the 114º was the azimuth for the December solstice sunrise which south of the Equator was the summer solstice, they called in Larry Adkins, and astronomer to help further study of the alignments. 
(See the next post, “Buena Vista and Chankillo: Oldest Peruvian Observatories – Part III,” for more on what additionally was found at Buena Vista and what it had to do with the early Peruvians who settled this area)

Buena Vista and Chankillo: Oldest Peruvian Observatories – Part I

Today, archaeologists are evaluating whether an ancient temple in Buena Vista, Peru, which functioned as a calendar, or the unusually elaborate astronomical solar observatory complex just north, in Chankillo, is considered the oldest in the Americas.
    In fact, for some time, archaeologists concentrated on the belief that the Inca practiced solar observation, based on the early Spanish chroniclers who described “sun pillars” used by the Incas to mark specific solar events. However, the physical remains of these pillars—likely destroyed during 16th-century anti-idolatry campaigns—have never been found, though some suggest that the base of two pillars on an island in Lake Titicaca might have been such.
    However, some indication of so-called Inca stones representing a solar observatory or calendar have been located, according to those who study and write about the questionable accomplishments of the Inca.

The so-called Inca Intihuatana of Machu Picchu was carved at the top of a natural pyramid's summit and characterized by odd shapes which defy interpretation

At Machu Picchu, the Intihuatana (Inti Wayana) stone, which inclines slightly at the top and tilts 13º northward on a granite block looking like a shelf and bench with a rectangular base, is considered a “ritual” stone associated with astronomic clock or calendar (Edwin C. Krupp, Echoes of the Ancient Skies: The Astronomy of Lost Civilizations, Courier Dover Publications, Mineola New York, 2003, pp48).
    Claimed to have been built by the Inca, it is doubtful the Inca were involved in such intricate work that has no evidence of its use or purpose since most everything the Inca built they were glad to tell both their neighbors and the Spanish, which lent to their status. However, there are no descriptions found among the chroniclers of this stone at Machu Picchu and its purpose. Today, archaeologists such as Albert Amao, consider it possibly a sundial; or, according to Dilwyn Jenkins, a means of determining the winter solstice; and David Wilcock that it was a symbol for the Earth’s rotation axis.  Some have ventured the opinion that the Inca believed the stone held the sun in its place along its annual path in the sky (Dr. Albert Amao, “The Dawning of the Golden Age of Aquarius: Redefining the Concepts of God, Man, and the Universe,” Author House, Bloomington, IN, 2012; Dilwyn Jenkins, The Rough Guide to Peru, Rough Guides, New York, 2003, p175; David Wilcock, The Source Field Investigations, Dutton Penguin Group, New York, 2002).
    Like so many things, he early Spanish clergy, under Viceroy Francisco de Toledo destroyed all the Intihuatana they could find, believing that the Incas’ religion was a blasphemy and, no doubt more importantly, that the religious significance of the ritual stones could be a political liability.

Map of (red circle) Chankillo with Lima being Pachacamac or Zarahemla; and Cuzco being the city of Nephi

On the other hand, the observatories in Chankillo (Chanquillo), “a cultural resource in San Rafael, Casma District, Ancash Region, Peru, are obvious solar observatories that were in use long before the origination of the Inca. In fact, the observatory discovered at Chankillo—a site of ongoing archaeological research since 2001—appear far more sophisticated than any of these believed Incan structures” (Iván Ghezzi, Religious warfare at Chankillo, Andean Archaeology, vol.III, ed. W. Isbell and H. Siverlman, Springer, Berlin, 2006, p.67-84).

The thirteen towers of Chankillo, referred to as the solar observatory, as seen from the hilltop fortress, show that when the sun appeared between different towers, progressing from left to right, then back again, indicating the month of the calendar as well as specific periods and events

The movement of the sun across the thirteen pillars of Chankillo provided direct observations of the movement with the purpose of regulating seasonal events such as festivals and the keeping of the seasonal calendar.
    The Thirteen Towers of Chankillo run north to south along a low ridge within a fourth-century BC ceremonial complex in north coastal Peru. From evident observing points within the adjacent buildings to the west and east, they formed an artificial toothed horizon that spanned—almost exactly—the annual rising and setting arcs of the Sun. The Chankillo towers thus provide evidence of early solar horizon observations and of the existence of sophisticated Sun cults, preceding the Sun pillars of Incaic Cusco by almost two millennia.

Such an observatory would provide dates and times for planting

Obviously, such observation was essential to the Hebrews and later Nephites in the Land of Promise, for both agricultural needs and for religious festivals. Unlike other so-called “observatory” sites around the world, which mark unequivocally only one or two dates, solar observations at Chankillo covered the span of its annual cycle. 
    Viewing the sun through sunrise and sunset observations of solar alignments over an artificial horizon, the ancient Peruvians were able to identify with great precision the dates of solstices and equinoxes, as well as any other date throughout the seasonal cycle of the sun. In fact, they could determine the date with an accuracy of two to three days by watching the sunrise or sunset from the correct observation platform. Using the site as an observatory would have allowed the ancient Peruvians to regulate the occurrence of seasonal events, including planting and harvest times, as well as religious festivals. In this sense, the Chankillo astronomical observatory is unique and exceptional, not only in Peru or in the Americas, but worldwide.

According to Ghezzi, of the National Museum of Archaeology, Anthropology and History—the oldest museum in Peru, and co-author Clive Ruggles, of the University of Leicester, the towers run north to south along a low ridge within a fourth-century BC ceremonial complex in north coastal Peru. Though speculated on by Thor Heyerdahl in his book Kon-Tiki in 1948, his work was never taken seriously, now, however, scientists are beginning to realize the truth behind Heyerdahl’s much earlier understanding. Today, it is evident that observing points within the adjacent buildings to the west and east at Chankillo formed an artificial toothed horizon that spanned—almost exactly—the annual rising and setting arcs of the Sun almost two millennia before the Inca (Ghezzi and Ruggles, Science Journal, vol.315, Is.5816, 2 arch 2007, pp1239-1243). 
    However, according to archaeologist Richard Lewis Burger, Chairman of Archaeological Studies at Yale, and carried out excavations since 1975 publishing several books and many articles on Chavin culture, an extinct, prehistoric civilization that developed in the northern Andean highlands of Peru from 900 BC to 200 BC, he states: “dozens of radiocarbon dates, ranging from 2350-2150 calibrated years-before-the-present, place the construction, occupation, and abandonment of Chankillo within the late Early Horizon period (500–200 BC) of the central Peruvian chronology (John Roach, John Roach, “Mercury Pollution’s Oldest Traces Found in Peru,” National Geographic News; Richard L. Burger, Chavin and the Origins of Andean civilization, Thames and Hudson, London, 1992).
(See the next post, “Buena Vista and Chankillo: Oldest Peruvian Observatories – Part II,” for additional information regarding Chankillo, as well as the outline of the ancient Buena Vista observatory)

Fallacies and Truths about the Hill Cumorah – Part II

Continuing from the last post regarding information on identifying and understanding the location and appearance of the Hill Cumorah, as described in the scriptural record.
    In the previous post, the first 7 of Palmer’s 13 criteria regarding the hill Cumorah were covered. Here we continue with #8:

8. An escape route south.
    We know of no “escape route” into the south—all we are told is that “a few who had escaped into the south countries” (Mormon 6:15). All this suggests is that there was open land sufficient to move a small group of people, probably undercover, either at night, or during the battle, which would have not been surprising in the massive size and area spread across the battle, where some escaped the field of battle and headed in the direction from which the Lamanites had traveled to Cumorah., i.e., “from the south.” Now since both the Lamanite armies and the Nephite armies came to this area from the south, this listed and described event provides no value in finding the hill Cumorah, for the armies of the Lamanites and Nephites were so far superior in numbers from the “few” who had escaped into the south countries.
9. Hill large enough to view hundreds of thousands of bodies.
    This is only the third of these statements that are correct and of any value. The only caveat is that we do not know if what Mormon describes is what he actually saw, i.e., the actual viewing by them from the hill top of 230,000 dead bodies, or that enough dead could be seen for the imagination to conjure up the rest, especially in light of there being only 24 survivors in his party atop the mountain.
10. Hill must be a significant landmark.
    This is correctly suggested, since Mormon invited the Lamanite king who would not have been familiar with the Land Northward, to do battle at a certain hill which, by definition, must have been something that would have been an obvious landmark to the king.
11. Hill must be free standing so people can camp around it.
    This sounds likely to be true from the scriptural record: “we did pitch our tents round about the hill Cumorah” (Mormon 6:4). However, the information does not tell us in what shape, i.e., round, rectangle, oblong, or if it had one peak, two or many. Thus, in looking for a hill, this tends not to narrow down the search pattern other than to say it would have to be a place large enough for 230,000 people to camp around. We also do not know if there were only 230,000, or if “with their wives and their children” actually meant more than the 230,000 warriors, which would have been the case, since military leaders tend to list their troops, not additional support or attached civilians.
12. In temperate climate with no cold or snow.
    This seems like a useless comment. Even in snow country, ancient armies were smart enough not to attack during winters. And we do not know if it was cold or not, since there is no description of clothing, temperature, or any such conditions. It is another one of these requirements thrown in by Mesoamericanists who use the tropical climate of their location as a basis for such discussion when such an approach is not warranted by the scriptural record.

Volcanic Zone of the Americas is basically along the Pacific Rim, from Chile in the south up around Alaska and across the Pacific through Japan to the Philippines, Indonesia and across New Guinea to Oceania

 

13. In a volcanic zone susceptible to earthquakes.
    Another useless requirement, since the scriptural record and these described do not suggest any particular details to the fact that a severe earthquake was involved in the destruction of the land at the time of the crucifixion—though one would certainly seem likely from the descriptions. And that does not specifically single out the area of the Hill Cumorah. Whether or not this was a volcanic zone or earthquake zone is unknown from these events. We know that the Land Southward was heavily affected 350 years earlier by such seismic activity, and while we know it was even worse in the Land Northward (3 Nephi 8:12), the hill Cumorah is “so far northward” that it may well have not been affected by the earthquakes and volcanoes. But even if it were, an earthquake could have been an unknown factor in Nephite history prior to this event, since it is the only such “quaking of the earth” mentioned in the scriptural record.
    In fact, a reading of the record suggests this event might have been singular in nature, being described as “never had been known n all the land,” mentioned twice in three very short verses (3 Nephi 8:5-7). It is simply an unknown factor and certainly not one that can be used as a criteria.
    Thus, it can be suggested that of the 13 criteria Palmer claims are required, only 5, 6, 9, are really useful, and 10, 11, and 13 as helpful. The rest would be of no value whatsoever, or not supported by the scriptural record. The list concludes with this remark: “Clearly, the placement of Cumorah will greatly affect the map which results. Issues of distance, as discussed above, play a role here as well.”
    Certainly, if we could identify without question the hill Cumorah where the final battles of the Lamanites and Nephites took place, it would help immensely to locate the entire Land of Promise. However, Palmer’s list and all others claimed by theorists do not accomplish that fact. There simply is not enough descriptive information in the scriptural record to isolate that hill from all other possible hill locations with a high degree of certainty.

Various lands where the hill Cumorah has been placed by Land of Promise theorists

  
Put another way, since “Necessity is the Mother of invention,” it seems that the Hill Cumorah has led to numerous inventive ideas that can be found in almost any theorist’s writings. After all, most theorists evidently consider the scriptural record of the Book of Mormon flexible enough to let them invent their own Hill Cumorah pretty much anywhere they want to put it. Consider it has already been placed in Eritrea, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Panama, Guatemala, Yucatan, southern Mexico, Baja, Africa, and no doubt, elsewhere.
    In inventing a hill Cumorah in your favorite part of the world, you just need to:
1. Ignore what Mormon has written about the hill upon which he fought and probably died;
2. Pay more attention to modern prophets and apostles who have weighed in on the subject with opinions, but not in any official capacity, than the scriptural record itself;
3. Apply a very flexible interpretation of the Book of Mormon text.
    An interesting thing about Cumorah, and one that is extremely important but totally ignored by theorists who want to claim Cumorah’s location, is that all we know directly, from present-day experience is that Joseph Smith was led to the plates that were buried in a hill in western New York near Palmyra by the Angel Moroni, who wrote the last passage in the plates before depositing them somewhere—but where we do not know. All we do know is that in 1820s—they were in this hill in upstate New York where Moroni placed them for Joseph Smith to locate, but when he deposited them there we do not know. Where those plates were deposited between 421 A.D. and 1820 A.D., is both unknown and unknowable, unless the Lord is to reveal it to us. The point now is, we do not know and we have not been told, and despite all the rhetoric to the opposite, no prophet or General Authority has ever said officially any location—there reference to the Hill Cumorah is that it was, without question, where Joseph Smith found the plates. That some have given their opinions is the right of any other person as well, and that some have changed those opinions over time, is also the right of anyone.
    Like so many things within the scriptural record pertaining to geographical understanding, the Church has no official position on any New World location described in the Book of Mormon. What we have are the scriptures, and they provide us with sufficient information in the case of the Hill Cumorah to compare Mormon’s descriptive information with each theorist’s claims. And neither the hill Vigia in southern Mexico, or the hill Cumorah in western New York meet these criteria outlined in the scriptural record.
    We need to be careful when reading someone's beliefs, opinions, and ideas, though stated as though doctrinal and accurate, that we not get drawn into a trap of accepting descriptive information that is not accurate to the scriptural record.

Fallacies and Truths about the Hill Cumorah – Part I

Recently, we were forwarded a list of 13 absolute requirements, according to David A. Palmer (In Search of Cumorah: New Evidence for the Book of Mormon from Ancient Mexico, Horizon, 1981, pp28-72), necessary for the Hill Cumorah to be located, and asked if these were hard and fast criteria.
    Since this was only one of numerous question we have been asked over time, we are answering them collectively in this article.
    Palmer’s 13 geographical conditions required for the Book of Mormon hill Cumorah are listed with our comments:

1. Near Eastern Seacoast.
    There is no exact distance in the scriptural record listed from the Sea East to Cumorah’s location. In fact, we are only told that the hill Cumorah was in the Land of Cumorah (Mormon 6:2), and that Mormon marched his last Nephite army to that land, where they pitched their tents around about the hill Cumorah, and it was in the land of many waters, rivers, and fountains (Mormon 6:4). Mormon makes no mention of any seacoast nearby. We also know that the hill Cumorah was the same hill that the Jaredites called the hill Ramah (Ether 15:11), and was where Mormon hid up the records unto the Lord, which were sacred. The last battle occurs and Shiz pursued Coriantumr eastward, even to the borders by the seashore, and there he gave battle unto Shiz for the space of three days. From there the battle went elsewhere and paused for four years while they gathered everyone in. They fled to Ripliancum in the north, and from there fled and fought for five days. No mention of a sea is again made. So it cannot be said “the hill Cumorah was by the eastern seashore” since no one knows.

2. Near Narrow Neck of Land. 
    This is a persistent claim by the Mesoamericanists because of the location they believe their hill Cumorah in Mexico is located. However, in the scriptural record the only information we have to determine this says just the opposite. First of all, we know that the Land of Desolation is north of the small or narrow neck of land (Alma 22:31-32), and that The Land of Desolation “being so far northward” that it “came into the land which had been peopled and been destroyed” (Alma 22:30), should suggest that the Jaredite lands, especially the hill Ramah/Cumorah where the Jaredites were destroyed “was so far northward” that it was far north of the small or narrow neck of land. Thus, it can be shown that the hill Cumorah was not “near the narrow neck of land.”
3. On a coastal plain and near other mountains and valleys.
    There is nothing to suggest that the hill Cumorah was on a coastal plain. As shown above, we don’t know it was even near a coast, and certainly not that it was on a plain. We only know that it was near a hill of sufficient size that 230,000 or more people could camp around it, and that it was near to an area of many waters, fountains and rivers, which, by the way, is not descriptive of a ”coastal plain.” We know that the Nephites, including wives and children, could see the Lamanite armies marching toward them as they stood their ground at Cumorah (Mormon 6:7), but whether over even ground, hilly ground, through ravines, crossing rivers, or what, we are not told. Evidently, in that first wave of attack, the Lamanites fought through and killed all but 24 Nephites (Mormon 6:8-10), with Mormon and Moroni among the survivors (Mormon 6:11).

We do know that the survivors were on the top of the hill Cumorah the next day (Mormon 6:11), and from this vantage point they could “from the top of the hill Cumorah” see the tens of thousands of dead, Mormon lists in 23 commands, or 230,000. How many of them he could actually, as opposed to just assumed, or knew through vision, we are not told.
    While there were evidently, 230,000 Nephites killed in that single battle (Mormon 6:11-15), there is no comment to suggest the terrain upon which this battle took place, whether a plain, hill country, rivers or ravines, etc., or whether they were near other mountains or valleys—nothing at all on the subject is stated or suggested. It does not seem likely it was near other mountains or what could they have seen from the hill top the next day? However, we know that the hill Shim was on the way to Cumorah, either to its south, or west, but any other topography is unknown.
4. One day’s journey south of a large body of water. 
    It is true that south of Ripliancum (large body of water) is the area of Ogath, where Shiz pitched his tents after a period of battle and flight, however, we do not know that it was only one day’s flight. At the same time, Ramah may well have been nearby, but it does not say that—only that after Coriantumr’s army beat Shiz’ army, Shiz fled southward to Ogath. Whether Coriantumr’s army moved in the same direction, for the same length of time, again, we are not told. More importantly, while Coriantumr’s army pitched their tents at Ramah, we do not know in what direction they traveled or for how long. At this time, both sides spent four years (Ether 15:14) gathering up all the remaining people to their two armies. We don’t even know from the scriptural record that after four years and when the final battle ensued, they were still camped at Ogath and Ramah.
5. An area of many rivers and waters.
    This is the first correct statement. We know that Mormon marched his last Nephite army to that land, where they pitched their tents around about the hill Cumorah, and it was in the land of many waters rivers, and fountains (Mormon 6:4). But any area where a lot of water exists does not necessarily qualify for that factor, since many lakes and rivers are not connected with fountains, receiving their waters from snow melt drainage, whereas fountains bubble water up from the aquifer below the surface.

A fountain, as Mormon notes in his description of Cumorah being “in a land of many waters, rivers, and fountains” (Mormon 6:4, emphasis added), relates to water forced to the surface from the subsurface aquifer through the underground water buildup, which forms, streams, rivers, and lakes. For Mormon to have known this, there would have had to be visible fountains, not just water seepage to the surface 

6. Presence of fountains.
    Another correct statement. In this case, as described, these fountains are the formation of water sources, i.e., either spouts or seepage of water from the aquifer that rises to the surface, and is the beginning or foundation of certain lakes and rivers. However, how close the fountains were to the hill Cumorah, which was in the Land of Cumorah, which was in a land of many waters (Mormon 6:4), we are not told.
7. Water gives military advantage. 
    It can, but this is not a descriptive issue. The advantage could be to either side. Rivers have to be crossed, generally at fords—a shallow place with good footing along a river or stream may be crossed by wading. A ford is mostly a natural phenomenon, in contrast to a low water crossing, which is an artificial bridge that allows crossing a river or stream when water is low. At the same time, lakes have to be rounded, and if waters depicted swamps, then armies could get bogged down. However, “they did fall upon my people with the sword, and with the bow and arrow and with the axe, and with all manner of weapons of war” (Mormon 6:9), which might suggest that they were not particularly delayed or deterred by the water, which in turn might suggest that the waters were not directly around the hill Cumorah where the battle took place. We simply do not know.
(See the next post, “The Hill Cumorah – Part II,” for more information on identifying and understanding the location and appearance of the Hill Cumorah as described in the scriptural record)

Searching Imbabura and Cotacachi Mountains in Ecuador

While Ecuador has 27 potentially active volcanoes, such as Cayambe, Reventador, Guagua Pichincha, Cotopaxi, Tungurahua, Sangay, Chacana and numerous others, the non-active stratovolcano Cerro Imbabura is still a significant mountain in north central Ecuador at 15,190-feet elevation, near the Colombia border. The conical mount is intermittently capped with snow but has no permanent glaciers, and though it has not erupted for many thousands of years, it is not thought to be extinct.

In 1880, while traveling in Ecuador, looking for artifacts and historical sites, Edward Whymper (left), an English mountaineer, explorer, illustrator, and author best known for the first ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865, was told wherever he went that if he wanted artifacts, he should travel to Cerro Imbabura in the Imbabura Basin up north where there were great numbers of artifacts just lying about on the ground.   

Upon heading north, Whymper found that a large part of this region was dominated by the mountains Mojanda, Cotacachi and Imbabura, with the slopes of Imbabura extending outward from the hill toward Lake San Pablo to the south, the town of Iluman to the west, and around to the north toward Ibarra.

The three mountains that mark the area of the Imbabura Basin, the cities and lakes located there

In fact, the area within these three mountains is considered the most fertile ad cultivated in the region of the Imbabura Basin. An earthquake hit between Imbabura and Ibarra during the night of August 16, 1868, opening chasms into which disappeared large portions of villages, with only about two dozen houses in Ibarra remaining after the short, devastating earthquake struck. Since the occurrence was shallow, that is not far beneath the surface, which is attested to by the lack of peripheral damage on the surface (if it had been deeper, the circle of influence would have been greater), the damage was centered to a small area.
    Very large rifts and openings appeared, called earthquake quebradas (uneven, cracked, zigzag crevices) opened up throughout the land between Cotacachi, Otovalo, Mt. Imbabura and Ibarra). The numerous cuts now seen here in the land were not created by upheaval (uplift) that would result in ground heaves and swells, but by ground subsidence (sinking), for there were no normal irregularities in the land as found from upheaval, but by the earth being divided during a quake or quakes when the earth was in a state of tension.
    In fact, the ground shock traveled all the way to the mountains of Colombia, which shut in the province of Imbabura like a wall, and rebounded back toward Ibarra. Fifteen to twenty years afterward, the numerous villages around the earthquake area were still in a very ruinous condition from the terrible effects of the quake. No doubt, during occurrence, the underground silts and clays were reduced considerably and the ground aquifers suffered lasting damage. One quebrades was six miles long. Others, which existed long before the 1868 occurrence, are very old and others were formed in the memory of man.
    About 250 miles to the west is Mt. Cotacachi, which appears conical from the south, but from the northeast is pyramidal in shape. Toward the summit, where strong, gusty winds blow ceaselessly, the mount is filled with cracks and fissures and the ground becomes extremely rugged. The east face of the mount, overlooking the Imbabura Basin, rises sharply and becomes precipitous, though the west side is less abrupt, but generally covered with snow.
    The summit of Cotacachi is a pointed peak of lava, broken up by frost, extremely steep toward the top, and as a result, had little snow. There is an abundance of hearty lichen and moss among the summit rocks, with grasses on the very highest point, growing and flourishing some two thousand feet above their normal growth range despite most of the year this being below freezing temperatures and the ground hard frozen (Edward Whymper, Travels Amongst the Great Andes of the Equator, John Murray Publisher, London, 1892, pp248-260)

Believed to be weapons, these “Stars of Stone” would have caused considerable damage when thrown, striking an enemy in the head or arms and legs, much like stones from a slingshot

It was Whymper who first discovered a certain type of artifact, found nowhere else but in Ecuador, which he called “Stars of Stone,” and believed to have been weapons. He first encountered them during his expedition to Ecuador in 1880, these artifacts were found almost everywhere around the hills and flatlands of Imbabura and Cotacachi, so many were found that Whymper wrote in his journal: “It was embarrassing by the very quantity of these war-like circular stone finds.” The stones had no more than six extending points arrayed around the periphery, sometimes but five.
    Hundreds were found around Imbabura and the flatlands around Imbabura, as well as around Mt. Cotacachi is also flat, but extremely rent and riven with fissures intersecting one another irregularly and forming a perfect maze of impassable clefts of earthquake quebradas. This bifid land was divided into two parts, with a deep cleft or notch running between them.
    The stones had no more than six extending points arrayed around the periphery, sometimes but five, and though were similar in design, no two were exactly alike. They range from three to five inches in diameter, and from three-quarters of an inch to two inches in thickness, weighing between five and twenty ounces. While the larger ones were made from basaltic rock and gabbro, some were also cast in metal.
    Whymper noted that during his travels through the area, natives had been collecting artifacts and using them as hanging ornaments, or charms worn by women, or used as weights by weavers on their looms, or as toys by children. While most natives knew of their existence, all were genuinely surprised to learn that there were so many after Whymper’s massive collection of such artifacts.

Bronze morning star that was placed on the end of a shaft and wielded as a club in Ecuador as a formidable weapon

It is interesting that two such “stars” were found in Cuzco, Peru, with one attached to a hatchet, suggesting “it must have been a war-club or battle-axe” (J.M. Gilliss, “Report of the U.S. Naval Astronomical Expedition to the Southern Hemisphere during the years 1849-1852,” United states Naval Astronomical Expedition, vol.ii, Washington, 1855, p.138). In fact, numerus writers have written about these stars imbedded in clubs and that many skulls were found with “the larger part seemed to have been broken by blows from some such weapons” (Ephraim George Squier, Peru: Incidents of Travel and Exploration, Henry Holt and Co., New York, 1877, p177).
    Charles Wiener, an Austrian-French scientist-explorer and diplomat, who was sent to the Andes to gather artifacts, gives a figure of a star which was found at Ancon, near Lima, showing a stick inserted in the central hole and another handled bronze star weapon (Wiener, Pérou et Bolivie, Paris, 1880, p685).
    Additional writers, W. Reiss and A. Stübel, reported that “the few stone objects found here show but slight traces of workmanship, an exception being a stone weapon of the ‘Morning Star’ type—the six-rayed stone star here found once only, is elsewhere in Peruvian graves by no means rare” (W. Reiss and A. Stübel, The Necropolis of Ancon in Peru, 3 Volumes, A. Asher & Co., Berlin, 1880-1887). In fact, E. George Squier called these weapons “casse-têtes,” which means “war club,” but is freely translated as “nut-cracker.”
    In all, these “morning star” weapons were clubs adorned with a spiked or pointed ball or plate, used as a blunt-force and puncture attack to kill or wound an enemy. In 1880, when Whymper traveled to Ecuador, following several others who have written about these weapon and the vast number of such artifacts as weapons were easily found upon the ground, this English explorer concluded that “These objects were more numerous than any other kinds which were obtained, and are found everywhere. We should therefore be led to conclude that a great part of the population was provided with offensive weapons.”
    It might also be noted that Squier noted in his book that these “Morning Star” weapons found all over Ecuador, were not found in Peru, even northern Peru. One might wonder if the stars were equated to the Jaredites, and not the Nephites or Lamanites.