Iron Mine Discovery in Peru bolsters Book of Mormon
Many people have dismissed the Book of Mormon as non-historical because Nephi supposedly used iron, but no iron has been found (among many criticisms). I got an email newsletter from the Nephi Project about a new discovery by Purdue University researchers in Science Daily about an Iron Ore mine.
An excerpt from the article states, “The researchers determined that the mine is a human-made cave that was first created around 2,000 years ago. An estimated 3,710 metric tons was extracted from the mine during more than 1,400 years of use. The mine, which is nearly 700 cubic meters, is in a cliffside facing a modern ochre mine.”
It goes on to state that the Nasca people only used ore for ceramic and body paint. Now, I don’t mean to be critical, but 3170 metric tons is a lot of paint! It seems hard to believe that all the ore was only used for paint. The mine was used for 1400 years–couldn’t some trading have happened?
Very interesting article.
Wow! Very interesting.
I’m currently reading “Echoes and Evidences of the Book of Mormon” Do you have any other good suggestions of books such as these?
John L Sorensen is probably the pre-eminent scholar on the Book of Mormon, so I think any student should consider what he says on the subject. He’s written several books, some easy to read, some very scholarly (and “boring”). I’m not sure if you’re looking more at geography or evidences, but he’s written some on both subjects.
If you want to get familiar with Geography Theories, I recommend “The Geography of Book of Mormon Events: A Source Book.” published by FARMs. This can be hard to find, but I did find it on eBay. When I discovered the vendor “Confetti Antiques” was in Spanish Fork, I just went there to buy it to save on shipping. It is a hard book to find, and has no ISBN #. Of course, he has plenty of other books too.
He is a proponent of Central American Theories, so understand that is his bias. I’m not sold on any one theory yet, but I respect what he has done.
If you’re looking for Old World Evidences, http://www.nephiproject.com has some real interesting stuff. One of the researchers there seems to think a frankincense trail was probably Nephi’s trail, and claims to find the River of Laman, Bountiful, and thinks that Khor Rori is the port Nephi sailed out of (in Yemen.)
Sorensen likes some of the Old World Work by these scholars, though they learn toward Peru, Chile, and South American “New World” models. There is some good shipbuilding information there.
You have a good point that 3170 metric tons is a lot of paint. But, until scientists find evidence that the ore was used for more than body paint, we really can’t say this discovery bolsters our belief in the Book of Mormon.
Even if (when) scientists find evidence that iron was used for weapons, all we’ll have is a parallel between archeology and the Book of Mormon. Parallels don’t prove anything but can increase the faith of those who already believe.
My blog is on parallels between science and Mormonism, and there are quite a few parallels with the church. One of the active parallels is the search by scientists for other worlds.
Even if (when) scientists find evidence that iron was used for weapons, all we’ll have is a parallel between archeology and the Book of Mormon.
I think that most people will see it as corroborating evidence of the Book of Mormon’s truthfulness, rather than just a parallel. In the same way, archaeological evidence that does not corroborate the Book of Mormon narrative is seen as evidence of the Book of Mormon’s untruthfulness
dpc, I think you’re right that most LDS will see it as corroborating evidence of the Book of Mormon. That’s too bad, though, since the evidence would be for the existence of an iron mine with no evidence about who created the mine. The Book of Mormon does not claim that the Nephites and Lamanites were the only peoples in the American continents. Thus, non-BoM people could have been here, and the iron mine could have been created by them.
I tried to be careful in my word choice. I chose “bolsters” rather than “proves” because the discovery certainly doesn’t prove anything about the Book of Mormon. With the mining of that iron, there exists a possibility that the metal could have been used in more than just paint.
If no mine discovery was made, then critics could continue to say there is no evidence of iron as mentioned in the BOM. This discovery forces them to soften that stance somewhat, because a mine was found. Now, if an iron sword inscribed with “Laban” was found, that would be pretty interesting, and further erode their claims….
But as of yet, we can make no such claim. The mine discovery certainly does not weaken the Book of Mormon, is at least neutral, and could be shown to have a positive affirmation on the authenticity of the BOM.
Thanks, MH, for clarifying your choice of words. And, thanks for using “bolsters” instead of “proves”. I think there is a significant difference between using iron for paint and foraging iron into weapons. I agree that the discovery of this mine is not only interesting but significant. I reported it in my blog under the label “migration”.
I chuckled about your comment of finding a sword inscribed with “Laban”, although I would hope the sword would be discovered by a non-Mormon.
WHEN do they figure this mining took place? 2000 yrs ago? about the time of Christ?
From Science Daily.
“The researchers determined that the mine is a human-made cave that was first created around 2,000 years ago. An estimated 3,710 metric tons was extracted from the mine during more than 1,400 years of use. The mine, which is nearly 700 cubic meters, is in a cliffside facing a modern ochre mine.”
According to Wikipedia, ochre is an iron oxide that has been used as a pigment for thousands of years. I couldn’t find any articles that spoke of ochre in the context of making weapons. Maybe someone familiar with metals can comment on this.
An iron mine does nothing for BoM authenticity. Now a smelter, on the other hand, that would be something to talk about.