Were the Olmecs Jaredites?

Mesoamerican theorists have long contended that the original settlers of Mesoamerica—the Olmecs—were the Jaredites of the Book of Mormon. Mesoamericanist John L. Sorenson wrote: “Taking together the geographical setting, the cultural patterns, the agreement in dates, and many specific facts we cannot go into at this point, identifying the culture in which the Jaredites were involved with the First or Olmec Tradition is very reasonable.”

How reasonable is it to make numerous claims that are not found in, supported by, referred or intimated within the scriptural record? First of all, Sorenson’s geographical setting in Mesoamerica for the home of the Jaredites falls far short of the scriptural record. As an example, in one very important case, though not the only one, the Olmecs lived in both Sorenson’s Land Northward (San Lorenzo, Tres Zapotes, Laguna de los Cerros, etc.) and in his Land Southward (La Venta, San Andres, Arroyo Sonso).

Sorenson himself acknowledges this Land Southward penetration and living existence of the Olmecs in saying: “archaeological record tells us that earlier First Tradition settlements had been concentrated north of the isthmus, but that after 1500 B.C. significant though still secondary Olmec activity was manifested south of the neck.” In plain English, this means that the Olmecs lived from about 1500 B.C. SOUTH of his narrow neck of land—which is contrary to the scriptural record of the Jaredites. That is, the Olmec history is in an area where the Jaredites never lived, south of the narrow neck of land (Ether 10:21), and the furthest south in the Land Northward the record says the Jaredites lived was a great city they built “by the narrow neck of land, by the place where the sea divides the land (Ether 10:20).”

However, the scriptural record must not be correct to Sorenson and other Mesoamericanists, including High Nibley, who constantly take the very questionable archaeological findings over what Mormon and other prophets wrote in the Book of Mormon. Unfortunately, their many published works based on archaeology has been sold and presented as if it agreed with the scriptural record—which it does not!

In yet another remarkable concept held by Sorenson and other Mesoamericanists, they claim that there were Jaredites living where Lehi landed. Sorenson wrote: “Language and archaeological studies assure us that there were inhabitants in coastal Guatemala soon after 600 B.C., but the number could have been low. The fact that the Olmec (Jaredite-related) tradition was then in the final stage of disintegration meant that the remnants living in the area of Lehi's landing would have been disorganized, not about to challenge mysterious newcomers.”

So, despite Ether’s numerous comments to the contrary, Sorenson places Jaredite survivors in the Land Southward when and where Lehi landed, but that they were so disorganized and weak, that the families of Lehi and Ishmael, farmers and merchants, easily overcame them—a previously battle hardened group of warriors with a warlike culture of physically strong and large men (Ether 15:26), who had been fighting civil wars for most of their existence in the Land of Promise.

Now that makes a lot of sense. That would be like a group of Quakers landing in the midst of Ghengis Khan and overcoming his warriors.

To defend his position, Sorenson refers to Hugh Nibley, who “pointed out years ago that many Latter-day Saints had oversimplified how complete the "destruction" of the Jaredites was. He argued, and the evidence is persuasive, that significant Jaredite elements persisted into Mulekite and Nephite times.”

Never mind that this “persuasive evidence” are Nephite names that Nibley claimed were Jaredites that carried over into Nephite times, and that the Jaredite war-like nature later shows up in some among the Nephites. Weak arguments at best, and in all cases, a second, un-biased look at the so-called Jaredite names show that they were also Egyptian, Hittite, Arab and and Canaanite names—all names that would have been known to the Nephites through Lehi’s family.

Undaunted, Sorenson goes on to write that there is: “other evidence of cultural continuity from Jaredite into later times.” Then has the gall to call all this speculative “evidence” facts by saying: “There is really no question about it. Jaredite contributions to the later peoples were substantial, in just about the manner and degree we have the Olmec tradition continuing into the post-Olmec era.”

One might think that Sorenson and his Mesoamericanists would do better to forget what the questionable archaeological record and rely on the written word of God regarding the Jaredite and Nephite nations.

(See the next post, “Were the Olmecs Jaredites—Part II,” for more on how the Olmec record is quite different than that of the Nephites)