The Connection Between Peru and Mesoamerica

As has been pointed out in the last three posts, there is an obvious connection between Andean Peru and Egypt, and between Andean Peru and Easter Island. Now let’s take a look at the connection between Andean Peru and Mesoamerica.

First of all, we need to remember that Nephi made it quite clear that there was a definite connection between Lehi and Egypt. In the second verse of the Book of Mormon, he writes: “I make a record in the language of my father, which consists of the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians” (1 Nephi 1:2). We also know that the brass plates obtained from Laban’s treasury by Nephi and Zoram, were written in Egyptian (Mosiah 1:4), and thus we find a very strong Egyptian connection. Later, we find that such Egyptian knowledge showed up in the design construction of several edifices in the Land of Promise—Andean Peru.

Secondly, we find that when Hagoth built several ships that sailed from his shipyard near the narrow neck of land, and while several are mentioned sailing north, one is mentioned sailing to an unknown destination (Alma 63:8), which seems logical that it would have sailed west, since they knew about those sailing north, and sailing south (into Lamanite territory) seems out of the question. Thus we find that the winds and currents leaving the Bay of Guayaquil (narrow neck of land area), would send a drift (sailing) voyage westerly and down into Polynesia and also toward Easter Island.

Left: Hagoth’s shipyards where he built several exceedingly large ships; Right: Teotihuacan, a large site in the basin of Mexico (Mesoamerica, the land which was northward)

Thirdly, we find that during the time of Hagoth’s ships sailing northward, a large company of men and their wives and children sailed “to a land which was northward” (Alma 63:4), which we have already shown in several posts means a land disconnected from the land they were on (Land of Promise). Jace Willard, in his “Hagoth's Trips to Acapulco: First Century B.C. Nephite Migrations to the Land Northward," in The Book of Mormon Archaeological Digest, points out that at this time there was a large settling at the site of Teotihuacan (and other nearby sites) in then first century B.C. that are archaeologically documented. He claims that “Although the society of this period was largely dependent on agricultural production, it also included such diverse occupations as painters, businessmen, architects, sculptors, priests, and government officials,” and that the foundation of buildings and commerce was established between 100 B.C. and 200 A.D. According to him, by the close of this period, Teotihuacan had an estimated 25,000 inhabitants, who had migrated there.

Consequently, what evidence do we find in Mesoamerica that shows a Peruvian connection? Like the similarities between Peru, Easter Island and Egypt, the similarities between Andean Peru and Mesoamerican are numerous and startling.

One of which is the roads.  As Glenn A. Scott, Jr. stated in Voices from the Dust, p. 191 “An interesting find was made on the Coba-Yaxuna sacbe [Yucatan]: an ancient road roller, a stone cylinder (now broken in two), twenty-eight inches in diameter, thirteen feet long, weighing five tons.  That sacbe is sixty-seven miles long, averaging thirty-two feet wide.  For most of its length it is two to three feet above terrain.  Where crossing bajos the roadbed is more than eight feet high with sides of roughly dressed stone.” Bancroft also recorded, "the remains of ancient paved roads, or calzadas, have been found in several parts of the state."  He quoted Spanish travelers, such as Cogolludo, as saying, "In his time, were to be seen vestiges of calzadas which cross the whole kingdom."

Top: The Coba-Yaxuna sacbe (white road), a stone paved road—Note the raised rock wall on left image; Center: Stone roads; Right: Road through jungle—Note the raised curbing on each side

Many sacbes (roads) have been found on the site of Coba. The Maya built a network of paved roads, connecting major cities, roads that are a marvel of engineering. They go through the dense jungle in perfectly straight lines, they are wide and built up with walled sides, and accomplished this with hardly any elevation points to make it possible for the builders to get their bearings. And they were quite wide, sometimes up to 33 feet, yet they didn´t have any pack animals or wagons. At Coba there are about 40 sacbes, some local, some heading deep into the jungle. The longest sacbe is a little over 62 miles, connecting Coba with Yaxuna, close to Chichen Itza in the Yucatan.

Ancient Peruvian roads: Almost all were paved with stones, once quite smooth, and many lined with rock curbing or walls

In addition, both in Andean Peru and Mesoamerica, the roads built involved stepping up hillsides and mountains, a rather unique idea for a road and highway system anciently, but in Peru and Mesoamerica the roads were primarily built for foot traffic.

Left: A stepped road in Mesoamerica; Right: A stepped road in Peru. Note that both are paved and have elongated flat areas between some of the steps

Another very important similarity between Andean Peru and Mesoamerica, was in the medical practice of trepanning, also known as trephination, trephining or making a burr hole. This medical practice is a surgical intervention in which a hole is drilled or scraped into the human skull exposing the dura mater to treat health problems related to intracranial diseases. It is also often used to relieve pressure beneath a surface, accomplished with a trephine, an instrument used for cutting out a round piece of skull bone.

While trepanning was not unique medical practice in the ancient world, there were only two places in the Western Hemisphere where it was practiced—that of Andean Peru and Mesoamerica.

Trepanning in both Peru and Mesoamerica: Top two images of Mayan trepanned skulls; Bottom two images of Peruvian trepanned skulls. Trepanning was practiced throughout Peru as has been reported on this site several times in the past

In pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, evidence for the practice of trepanation and an assortment of other cranial deformation techniques comes from a variety of sources, including physical cranial remains of pre-Columbian burials, allusions in iconographic artworks and reports from the post-colonial period.

"Among New World societies, trepanning is most commonly found in the Andean civilizations such as the pre-Incan cultures, such as the Paracas culture, situated in what now is Ica located South of Lima. It has also been found in the Muisca Confederation (in modern day Colombia), and in both, even cranioplasty existed." Its prevalence among Mesoamerican civilizations is much lower, at least judging from the comparatively few trepanated crania that have been uncovered, though some have been found from a range of sites in Oaxaca and central Mexico, such as Tilantongo, Monte Alban, and Tlatilco. Scraping for trepanning has been found in Guatemala, Palenque in Chiapas, and Chichen Itza in the Yucatan, where they used an abrasive technique that ground away at the back of the skull, thinning the bone and sometimes perforating it, similar to the examples from Cholula. It might also be of interest to know that trepanning was practiced in ancient Israel.

In addition, there are the carved stone heads that are found all over Andean Peru and Mesoamerica. These carvings are often found on rock walls, but also on stela and other rock formations. Again, rock carvings are not unique to these areas, but are found in the western hemisphere only in the Andean area and Mesoamerica.

Carved Stone Heads in Mesoamerica: Top: LtoR: Honduras, Copan, Yucatan; Bottom LtoR: Vera Cruz, Guerrero, Comalcalco

Carved Stone Heads in Peru: Top LtoR: Ancash, Tiwanaku, Chavin de Huantar; Bottom LtoR: Chupacoto, Lima, Ecuador

Also, are the stela that are found throughout Mesoamerica and Andean Peru, that are also found on Easter Island and in Polynesia. And, too, are the magnificent pyramids found exclusively in Andean Peru and Mesoamerica of the Western Hemisphere. The connections between Andean Peru and Mesoamerica are so numerous it is hard to imagine how archaeologists and anthropologists can continue to ignore this fact—and especially how the Mesoamerican Theorists can continue to turn a completely deaf ear to the subject of such numerous similarities in South America.