For LDS *scholars* attempting to make Olmec/Jaredite and Mayan/Nephite connections, the evidence and timeline just became even more troublesome. Instead of the Nephites flaring into existence just as the Jaredites self-exterminated--such an incredibly realistic scenario repeated so often throughout history <sarcasm>--it appears that a more natural (i.e. real life) evolution took place starting no later than around 1,000 BC (i.e. more than 400 years before the Nephites arrived, let alone grew to be a civilization).


http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130425142343.htm

From the article:

"There is no denying the striking similarities between Ceibal and La Venta, such as evidence of similar ritual practices and the presence of similar architecture -- namely the pyramids that would come to be the hallmark of Mesoamerican civilization but did not exist at the earlier Olmec center of San Lorenzo.

However, researchers don't think this is the case of simply one site mimicking the other. Rather, they suspect that both the Maya site of Ceibal and the Olmec site of La Venta were parts of a more geographically far-reaching cultural shift that occurred around 1,000 B.C., about the time when the Olmec center was transitioning from San Lorenzo to La Venta."

We know what the Olmencs and old Mayans were like (we actually even know what the modern Mayans are like- but don't get me started). They were not Nephites.

Agreed 100%. Despite this reality, apologists sometimes try to draw parallels in the timeline between the decline of the Olmecs/Jaredites and the rise to prominence of the Mayans/Nephites. Of course, the more sophisticated ones do so while simultaneously asserting that Nephites were NOT Mayans, but that they "participated" as a polity within that culture.

Mormons claim that the Book of Mormon is an accurate record of the people, history, culture, etc. of ancient America.

IF that were true, non-Mormon scholars who study ancient America from the disciplines of history, anthropology, linguistics, etc. would find it useful in their studies. They would use it regardless of their personal religious beliefs. They don't. It is irrelevant to them.

yes, and don't forget that fact that good ol Joe Smith claimed they lived in the US anyway. So for momos who believe he knew what he was talking about, it gets even more muddy.

Oh, yes, and hundreds of thousands died in the final battle around Cumorah. No bones, no weapons, no evidence of anything.

It is interesting to watch because as our technology and archeology methods improve, there is less and less of a chance we've missed something significant.

It's been recently discovered that the Maya had a long history of turkey domestication and use.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120809090706.htm

Now, some might say the whole BoM is a "turkey" - but I was trying to remember where the BoM talks about "flocks of herds" of turkeys----
Hmmm, was it in Alma or Mosiah?

Oh wait, it's not in the BoM at all.

Isn't it interesting: all the foods the Maya ate are NOT in the BoM, whereas all the foods mentioned in the BoM were NOT used by the Maya or other Meso-America civilizations.
Gosh, it's almost like the BoM had nothing to do with Meso-America, almost fictional!