Questions That Have to be Answered About the Land of Promise – Part III

Continuing with the last post where the first eleven questions were asked and answered. The following begins with question 12:

Question 12: “Where is there a narrow neck of land that runs north and south, and can be crossed east to west in a day and a half?”

Left: Narrow neck after the destruction in 3 Nephi and the rising of the Andes (mountains whose height is great); Right: Narrow Neck during B.C. times

Answer: Alma describes a Land Southward that is mostly North-South, with the Land of Nephi in the South, a Narrow Strip of Wilderness running from sea to sea to the north, then the Land of Zarahemla, and to the north of that is the Land of Bountiful, and to the north of that is the Narrow Neck of Land, with the entire Land Southward surrounded by water except for this narrow neck of land that connects the Land Southward to the Land Northward (Alma 22:27-33). In addition, we learn that the Narrow Neck of Land runs between the Sea West and the Sea East (Alma 50:34), and that the width of this narrow neck could be crossed in a day and a half by a Nephite (Alma 22:32). Travel for an average man (a Nephite) would be about 25 to 30 miles in a day and a half, since no travel at night would be likely with no lighting available, so we are talking about a 18-hour trip is about a mile-and-a-half per hour for 12 hours, sleep, then another six hours, walking on uneven ground around obstacles and across ravines, small hillocks and other impediments. This narrow neck existed up until the destruction around 34 A.D. between the east shore of the Bay of Guayaquil and the East Sea (now the Andes Mountains). This distance was about 26 to 28 miles, as it is today between the east shore and the Mountains. This area has always had a north-south pass (Alma 52:9) running through it angling from southeast to northwest eventually called the Pass of Huanyna Capac after a famous battle was fought there during Inca times. It should be noted that the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mesoamerica is 144 miles across (an average Nephite would have to cover 8 miles an hour for 18 hours), and for various other reasons simply does not meet the standard described by Mormon and, like other North America sites, would not keep an enemy from the south skirting the pass and circumventing this area of defense. It might be noted that though the East Sea is mentioned or referenced 45 times prior to 34 A.D., it is never mentioned over the following 400 years once the mountains rose “whose height is great.”

Question 13: “Where is there evidence that brothers were the first settlers in the land?”

Answer: Eight early and respected historians of Peru and the Andes give us a detailed account of the fundamental legends that came out of the Inca barrios of Cuzco at the time the Spaniards arrived. They are Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa, Juan de Santa Cruz Pachacuti, Miguel Cabello Balboa, Pedro de Cieza de Leon and Juan de Betanzos, all wrote of these legends, as did Garcilaso de la Vega, Alonso Ramos Gavilan, and Martin de Moru. In fact, almost every early chronicler has some reference to the story of the Wandering and the Four Brothers that settled the Andes. As recorded by these historians, the people of the First Age (Pacarimoc Runa) were white, agriculturists, and strong in their religion for they worshipped Viracocha, the Creator, as the one and only god.  The descendants of the older and legitimate sons became the people of later epochs, while descendants of other sons became the indigenous natives (Indians). Originally "there were four sons who were sent by their father to administer in his name and were perceived as propagators of the truth and militant soldiers of a new and exclusive gospel."  Each of these original brothers was married to a "sister-wife" and they had a golden staff of "peculiar properties" which "informed them when their mission was at an end" by remaining fixed on an "unknown promised land toward which they were journeying."  En route "difficulties developed with the oldest and most troublesome of the brothers," who had been prevailed upon to return "to the place of origin to retrieve some golden vessels they had failed to bring with them."   And when one of the brothers was near death, he designated his grown son as his heir and successor. Three brothers became the leaders of three groups or tribes who called themselves by separate names but were united and had to escape into the Andes with some of their people. There was a brother who did not combine with the league of three, and a long-lasting dualism occurred between the two groups.  Each group cherished a separate history, which carried down even into Inca times.  One brother led his people into the wilderness where the "warlike orientation of these footloose people was evidenced," and became adept at raiding the valley below, and who perfected the ritual huarachicoy or breechcloth ceremony.  One brother was so brave and strong and skilled with weapons that the other two brothers were affronted and humiliated at not being able to match his feats.  They were galled by envy and sought to kill their brother. The legend, as recorded by these various historians goes on to cover much of the Lehi story. It should be noted that though the earliest repetition of these legends have been badly eroded by time, what remains has been faithfully recorded as early as the 16^th century.  Obviously, the legends have been enhanced with exotic additions, had survived more than a thousand years after the demise of the Nephite Nation by the time Sarmiento and others recorded them, yet enough remains to draw some interesting parallels with the Book of Mormon. No such legend is known to exist anywhere else in the Western Hemisphere of founding brothers and their history of settlement, wars, etc.

Question 14: “Where is there evidence that slings with stones were used as weapons?”

Slings have been used for hunting and warfare since the beginning of time.

Answer: Slings have been around as a weapon for millennia, including David’s battle with Goliath, Homer’s mention of slings, and the slings used by the famous retreat of the Ten Thousand who had fought the Battle of Cunaxa in 401 B.C. Pre-Columbian slings have been found in the plains area of North America (the oldest found in Lovelock Cave, Nevada), but not in the Great Lakes or eastern U.S. Some were encountered by the Spanish among the Aztecs, but the sling in the Andean area of South America seems to have had a place of special prominence, and was cited by the Spanish conquerors as being "so expert and powerful they could fell a horse, split a shield and break a sword." In Peru, even today, there is a festival of the sling, where fake wars are fought among ancient-costumed Peruvians where only slings are used. Early Peruvian slings were intricately made from Llama or Alpaca wool, weighed a couple of ounces, had a split pouch, and a 67-inch span—some as long as 86 inches. It is a silent weapon and a sling toss can double what can be achieved by hand.

Question 15: “Where is there evidence that the Law of Moses circumcision was practiced?”

Answer: The only area in the Western Hemisphere where there is an archaeological record with physical evidence that the ancients living there from B.C. times, practiced circumcision was in the Andean area of Peru. Rafael Larco Hoyle, whose uncle Victor Larco Herrera was the founder of the first museum in Lima, Peru, and who himself is credited with nearly 100 verified discoveries of the early 20th century in the Andean area, and perhaps the most knowledgeable person of the ancient Peruvian people known today as the Mochica, discovered that these people anciently practiced circumcision, as did their predecessors, unnamed at this time, but referred to as the Mochica Complex or Initial Mochica

(See the next post, “Questions That Have to be Answered About the Land of Promise – Part IV,” for the continuation of these all-important questions)