The Geography of the Jaredites

Title

The Geography of the Jaredites

Publication Type

Web Article

Year of Publication

2011

Authors

Andersen, Joe V. (Primary), and Smith, Natasha (Primary)

URL

http://bmaf.org/articles/geography_of_jaredites__andersen

Terms of use

Items in the BMC Archive are made publicly available for non-commercial, private use. Inclusion within the BMC Archive does not imply endorsement. Items do not represent the official views of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or of Book of Mormon Central.

Bibliographic Citation

Abstract

While the debate still burns as to where in Mesoamerica the Nephites and Lamanites resided, few have attempted to create and identify an internal map of the geography of the Jaredites. Although the body of work that is dedicated to the history and account of the Jaredite people is only a fraction of the overall text of the Book of Mormon, cardinal directions, descriptions of specific locations, and references to Nephite locations are used throughout the brief body of work. These specific mentions of the geography, which may seem minute with a casual read, cumulatively amount to an internal map of the Jaredite people. Further, because the geography of the Jaredites corresponds with some Nephite locations, the internal map can reasonably be placed in Central America near the previously proposed Nephite location. By constructing an internal map and identifying a probable physical location of the Kingdom of the descendants of the Jaredites, it follows that archeological evidence should be able to relatively identify a possible descendant culture of the Jaredite people.

Mesoamerica

Ancient America

Jaredite

Book of Mormon Geography