Book of Mormon Evidence: Eruption of Popocateptl

Destruction at the Death of Christ

The Book of Mormon recounts a series of destructive events which occurred in the land of promise at the time of the death of Christ in Judea (3 Nephi 8: 5–25; 9:3–12). Prophets testified that these events would be a sign to Lehi’s people and many of the house of Israel of the suffering and death of the Son of God (1 Nephi 12:4; 19:10–12; 2 Nephi 26:4–6; Helaman 14:13–27; 3 Nephi 10:14).

In recent years, a growing body of Latter-day Saint scholars have argued that these events are best understood and are consistent with an ancient Mesoamerica setting.¹ Although the dating is tentative, there are indications that such an event or a series of events may have taken place during that Late Formative period (300 BC–AD 100) in southern Mexico and Guatemala, possibly around the time of Christ.² More recently, archaeologists working in Central Mexico have found additional evidence for a major volcanic event in that region during the first century AD.

A Major Volcanic Event

Patricia Plunket and Gabriela Urunuela uncovered evidence for a major eruption of the volcano Popocateptl in Central Mexico two thousand years ago.³ The volcano is located in the Sierra Madre range between the Valley of Mexico and the current State of Puebla, Mexico. At the time of the eruption, the site of Tetimpa on the eastern slope was buried under an enormous layer of volcanic ash.⁴ Based on their work at the site, they determined that the cataclysm produced a column of tephra 20 to 30 km high, causing “an ecological disaster of unprecedented proportions.”⁵

Impact on Populations in Central Mexico

Plunket and Urunuela believe that the eruption had a major impact on the populations found on both sides of the mountain range. Previous to the eruption, most of the population of the valley of Mexico was concentrated in the southern part of the basin.⁶ By the end of the first century AD, 80–90% of the population, perhaps as many as 50,000 people, became concentrated further north around the site of Teotihuacan, primarily due to the devastating effects of the eruption.⁷

Fires, smoke, lava flows, and other phenomena associated with the event took a heavy toll. As pyroclastic materials fell on the forested slopes the ash would have suffocated wildlife. The hot pyroclastic flows, with temperatures between 250 and 600 °C may have ignited multiple, highly destructive forest fire that would have spread quickly through the Sierra Nevada during the dry season, and the melting glacier would have formed destructive lahars that rushed down the deep canyons into the Amecameca river and Chalco area.⁸

They estimate that as many as 20,000 people in the Basin of Mexico may have been killed in the disaster.⁹ This is reminiscent of the prophecies and descriptions of destruction by fire which occurred at the time of the death of Jesus in the land of promise (1 Nephi 19:11; 3 Nephi 9:9–10).

This eruption, which the archaeologists characterize as “one of the largest human catastrophes of the prehispanic period,”¹⁰ appears to have caused comparable destruction and demographic changes on the other side of the mountains as well, where estimates suggest that the population of the region was reduced by “as much as 30%” and subsequently became concentrated around the site of Cholula and several other settlements.¹¹

Timing of the Eruption

When did the eruption take place? Early reports placed the event toward the end of the first century AD.¹² More recent evidence, based upon 14 radiocarbon dates and cultural materials recovered from the ash-buried houses at Tetimpa, show that the eruption “probably took place during the first half of the first century AD.”¹³ Additional evidence from crops, seasonal cooking patterns, and the direction of the wind during the dry and winter seasons led Plunket and Urunuela to conclude that “the most likely time [of the eruption] is late March or April.”¹⁴

This estimate is notable in light of the timing of the destruction described in Third Nephi, which occurred at the same time as the death of Christ at Jerusalem, which, in turn, occurred during Passover week. Recent estimates by biblical scholars date the death of Jesus to 14 Nisan (Judean Calendar), which  corresponds with April 6 (Julian Calendar) AD 30.¹⁵

Geographical Considerations

Some Latter-day Saint scholars have suggested that while the centers of Book of Mormon activity described in the text were south of Central Mexico, some groups of Lehi’s people may have migrated northward as far as the Mexican Basin.¹⁶ Under some geographical models of the Popocateptl eruption might be considered too far northward from the lands of Bountiful and Zarahemla to have been a factor in those centers of Book of Mormon activity, but the nature and impact of the Central Mexican eruption would have provided a notable fulfillment of prophecies about the signs of the death of Christ among other groups of Lehi’s people who migrated northward but were remembered in the covenants of the Lord (1 Nephi 19:10–12; 2 Nephi 10:21).

Conclusion

The magnitude of the Popocateptl eruption and its likely impact on the formative-era populations of Central Mexico are consistent with Mormon’s account of the destruction recorded in 3 Nephi. Such an event—which likely included a period of significant darkness, destruction by fire, and the death of tens of thousands—could have been viewed as a fulfilment of the prophecies of earlier prophets there, just as they were fulfilled in the lands of Nephi, Zarahemla, and Bountiful. Additionally, the timing of the eruption of the volcano is of great interest as it corresponds chronologically with the events in 3 Nephi in early first Century AD, most likely between late March and early April, the very time of year in which Jesus is believed to have died.