Mosiah's Exodus from Kaminaljuyu?

[Olavarria]

Many Mormon Mesoamericanists believe that the City of Nephi was in/near the area of Kaminaljuyu.

Omni 1:12(about 279 B.C.)

Behold, I am Amaleki, the son of Abinadom. Behold, I will speak unto you somewhat concerning Mosiah, who was made king over the land of Zarahemla; for behold, he being warned of the Lord that he should flee out of the land of Nephi, and as many as would hearken unto the voice of the Lord should also depart out of the land with him, into the wilderness

[Brant Gardner]

"Archeologist Marion Hatch and her Guatemalan colleagues have encountered evidence for the existance of a now-extinct lake around which the earthen platforms of Kaminaljuyu were arranged, as well as a sophisticated system of intensive agriculture. Connected with the lake were various irrigation canals, one of which carried water to an artificial storage basin 52.5ft(16m)wide and 36ft(11m) deep; leadingfrom the latter were small tributary channels which brought water to the fields, some of which were agricultural terraces on the sides of the ravines. As the lake dried up about 200BC, perhaps due to overexploitation of the land, or even to tectonic movements(the region is highly earthquake-prone), the city dwindeled until its revival during the Early Classic period"(The Maya 7th Edition, pg 72),emphasis added).

This is an excellent trigger, and the right time. We still need to connect the dots, however, since Mosiah's departure was coerced, not voluntary. The crisis in the lake drying up could provide a reason to leave, but it may have also triggered a religious crisis (politics and religion being inseparable in most of the ancient world). Perhaps the rulers put the blame on Mosiah and his faction. That gives us the trigger and the nature of the specifics in the text.

Nice find.

[Olavarria]

This is an excellent trigger, and the right time. We still need to connect the dots, however, since Mosiah's departure was coerced, not voluntary. The crisis in the lake drying up could provide a reason to leave, but it may have also triggered a religious crisis (politics and religion being inseparable in most of the ancient world). Perhaps the rulers put the blame on Mosiah and his faction. That gives us the trigger and the nature of the specifics in the text.

Nice find.

Thanks

I was watchin Journey of Faith 2 yesterday and decided to crack open Coe's book again. Its the 2005 edition, so I wonder if anything new has been learned in the last 5 years.

[Brant Gardner]

Its the 2005 edition, so I wonder if anything new has been learned in the last 5 years.

I'm quite sure there couldn't have been.

[Olavarria]

I'm quite sure there couldn't have been.

Its worth looking into though. Oh time....

[Olavarria]

Assuming Coe is correct, the Mosiah led migration wmight simply be part of a larger and slower decline of the city. He left; other people left too. Our LDS forefathers fled to the west and were guided by the Lord's prophets, but we weren't the only people who went west. It maybe that Mosiah's party was simply the first group to go.