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1. Why Search For Cumorah?, 17
Mormon's Cumorah in an Ancient Mexican Content, 18
The Mormon Church's Position on Geography, 19
Was Mormon's Cumorah the Place Shown to Joseph Smith?, 19
Book of Mormon Statements, 19
Designation of the Hill in New York State as Cumorah, 20
Meaning of "Cumorah", 21
Joseph Smith's Challenge, 21
Geography by Tradition, 23
Geography from Reconstruction, Comparison, and Evaluation, 25
Summary, 26
2. What Does the Book of Mormon Require for Geography of the Jaredite and Nephite Battleground?, 28
General Geographical Orientation, 29
Distances, 29
The Narrow Neck of Land, 29
Nephite-Lamanite Battles, 30
Joseph Smith's Statements, 30
Distance Across Narrow Neck, 31
A Narrow Pass on the Gulf Coast Side, 31
A Narrow Pass on the Pacific Coast Side, 33
Fortifications in the Narrow Pass, 34
Orientation of the Isthmus, 34
Nephite Coordinate System, 35
Directions From the Stars, 35
Directions From the Moon, 35
Directions From the Sun, 35
Directions from the Seas, 35
Mulekite Directional System, 36
Native Maps, 36
Archaeological Verification, 36
Changes in the Land at the Time of the Crucifixion, 37
Volcanoes and the Great Destruction, 38
Climate and the Battle at Cumorah, 41
Distance of Mormon's Cumorah from the Narrow Neck, 41
Chronology of the Last Nephite Battles, 42
The New York Theory, 43
The Escape Route, 44
Nephite Specifications for the Land of Cumorah, 44
Nature of Hill Cumorah, 45
Location of Ramah/Cumorah from the Jaredite Point of View, 45
The Flight of King Omer, 45
Flight of the Flocks, 46
The City of Lib, 46
Final War of the Jaredites, 47
The Limhi Expedition, 49
Distance traveled by the Expedition, 49
Possible Route Taken, 50
Obsidian Trails, 51
Summary, 52
Topographic and Geographic Criteria for Mormon's Cumorah, 53
3. What Physical Remains Are Required to Identify the Jaredite and Nephite Battleground?, 54
Beginnings of Text-Centered Archaeology, 55
The Nature of Archaeology, and Book of Mormon Studies, 56
Dating Methods, 57
Relative Dating, 57
Absolute Dating, 58
An Archaeological Test for Ramah/Cumorah, 60
Cultural Characteristics of the Jaredites, 61
Transition Between Jaredite and Nephite Culture, 64
Cultural Characteristics of the Nephites, 66
Summary, 70
Summary of Identifiable Physical Remains Required to Identify the Jaredite and Nephite Battleground, 71
4. An Archaeological and Geographical Test of the New York/Cumorah Theory, 73
Arguments for The New York Theory, 74
The City of Manti, 74
The Zelph Incident, 74
Land "Far to the North", 78
The Limhi Expedition, 79
Evaluation of the New York Theory with Geographical Criteria, 80
Comparison of New York Model with Cultural Traits and Physical Remains, 81
The Moundbuilders, 81
Extent of the Moundbuilder Culture, 83
Archaeology of New York State, 84
Interpretation of the Archreological Data, 86
Summary, 87
5. A Mesoamerican Model for Location of Mormon's Cumorah, 89
Mesoamerica and Book of Mormon Geography, 90
Chart #1: Archaeological Sequences in Mesoamerica During Book of Mormon Times, 92
Cultural Traditions in Mesoamerica, 93
Comparison of Mesoamerican Model with Geographic and Topographic Criteria, 93
1. Near Eastern Seacoast, 96
2. Near Narrow Neck of Land, 96
3. On a Coastal Plain and Possibly Near Other Mountains and Valleys, 96
4. One Day's Journey South of a Large Body of Water, 96
5. In An Area of Many Rivers and Waters, 97
6. Presence of Fountains, 97
7. The Abundance of Water Must Provide a Military Advantage, 97
8. Escape Route to the Land Southward, 99
9. Hill Must Be Large Enough to Provide a View of Hundreds of Thousands of Bodies, 100
10. Hill Must Be a Significant Landmark, 100
11. The Hill Should Be Free-standing so People Can Camp Around It, 100
12. In Temperate Climate With No Cold or Snow, 100
13. In a Volcanic Zone Subject to Earthquakes, 101
Comparison of Mesoamerican Model with Cultural Traits and Physical Remains, 106
1. Cities in the Vicinity of the Hill, 106
2. Towers or Stepped Pyramids for Religious Purposes, 112
3. Efficient Agriculture, 112
4. Metallurgy, 114
5. Formal Political States, 115
6. Organized Religion, 115
7. Idolatry at Certain Times, 115
8. Craft Specialization, 116
9. Trade, 116
10. Writing, 116
11. Weaponry in Immediate Vicinity of Hill, 119
12. Astronomy, 120
13. Calendar, 120
14. Cement, 121
15. Wheels, 122
Summary, 123
6. The Times of the Jaredites, 124
The Jaredites in Time and Space, 126
The Struggle for Survival (2700 B.C.-2000 B.C.), 129
Early Formative Village Life (2000 B.C.-1500 B.C.), 130
The Great Leap Forward (1500 B.C.-I000 B.C.), 131
Highland Area, 131
Development in the Isthmus, 132
City Of Lib, 132
Archaeological Verification for the Culture of Lib, 135
Other Jaredite Cities, 137
The Civil War, 138
Degeneracy and Destruction (1000 B.C.to 600 B.C.), 140
Jaredite Destruction Described by the Book of Mormon, 141
Olmec Life, 142
The Mystery of the Disappearance of the Olmecs, 142
Summary, 145
7. The Mulekites-From Cumorah to Zarahemla, 146
Who Were the Mulekites?, 147
Migration From Jerusalem, 147
The Phoenician Connection, 148
The Coriantumr Encounter, 148
The Stelae Complex, 149
Two Mulekite Landings, 149
Other Documents and the Mulekite Migration, 150
A Pattern For Ancient Records, 150
The Tapestry of Jucutacato, 151
The Tree of Life Scene, 154
Representation of the Migration Across the Sea, 154
Chronicle Accounts of the Migration, 158
Migration of Nonohualcans from the "Place of the Red", 158
An Over-water Migration Led by Priests, 159
Second Landing: La Venta, 161
Migration to Chiapas, 162
Settlement of the Land of Zarahemla, 162
The City of Zarahemla, 164
Chiapa de Corzo, 165
Possible Mulekite Migrations to Oaxaca, 168
Ruins in Oaxaca, 168
Incense Burners, 168
Migration from Chiapas, 169
Summary, 172
8. The Nephites-From Kaminaljuyu to Teotihuacán: Setting the Stage for the Nephite Extermination, 174
The City of Nephi: Kaminaljuyu, 176
Archaeological Investigations, 176
Summary of the Cultural Phases, 177
Early Nephite Period, 177
Migration to Zarahemla, 179
Revival of the City of Nephi by Nephites, 179
The Great Building Program, 179
Monuments in the Time of King Noah, 180
City of Nephi as Lamanite Capital, 180
Travel From the Land of Nephi to Zarahemla, 181
The City of Helam, 182
The Head of the River Sidon, 184
Manti: La Libertad, 184
Migrations to the Land Northward, 185
Containment of Migration, 185
Major Migrations, 186
Historical Verification of Migration in Ships, 187
Settlement of Valley of Mexico, 188
The Centuries After Christ in the Land Northward, 189
Development of Teotihuacan, 189
The Religion of Teotihuacan, 191
The Quetzalcoatl Legend, 191
Representations of Spiritual Rebirth, 193
Council In Heaven, 195
Attainment of Exaltation, 196
Summary, 198
9. A Historical Setting for the Nephite Destruction at Cumorah, 200
The Great Apostasy: A.D. 200 to A.D. 300, 201
Role of Teotihuacán in the Great Apostasy, 203
The Grand Strategy, 204
The War of Destruction, 205
Abandonment of the Land of Zarahernla, 205
Narrow Neck of Land Battles, 206
Battles North of the Isthmus, 207
The Aftermath of the Battle, 210
Summary, 212
10. Conclusion, 214
Testing the Theory, 214
The Book of Mormon and Archaeology, 215
The Record Repository in Cumorah, 216
New Discoveries Prophesied, 217
Finding the Record Repository, 220
Measuring Up to the Challenge, 220
Appendix A, 222
Developing a Chronology for the Jaredites, 222
Early Bible Chronology, 222
Mesoamerican Sources for Dating the Flood, 224
Dating of theTower, 225
Arguments for Even Earlier Dates, 225
Summary, 226
Appendix B: Where Was Nephite North?, 227
How Was True North Detemined?, 227
Was There a Pole Star?, 228
Directions From Solar Rising or Setting, 228
Directions and the Calendar, 229
Site Orientations, 229
Directions From Solstice Measurements, 230
Sixty-five Degrees West of North, 230
Seventy-five Degrees West of North, 231
Ninety Degrees West of North, 232
Native Accounts, 232
Cities of Mulek and Bountiful, 233
Summary, 233
References, 235
Map Section Index, 251
Map Section, 253
Index, 265
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