Book of Mormon anachronisms/Chariots and Wheels

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Criticism

• The Book of Mormon refers to the use of chariots, yet there were no wheeled vehicles in ancient America.

Source(s) of the criticism

• Simon Southerton, Losing a Lost Tribe: Native Americans, DNA, and the Mormon Church (Salt Lake City, UT: Signature Books, 2004) 172. ( Index of claims )

Chariots

 ^{[needs work]} We do not know what type of chariots the Nephites used, nor we know if what they called chariots had wheels.

LDS author wrote, "In detailed accounts of movements during the wars, the mode of transporation implied is foot travel."^[1] The same LDS author also wrote, "If wagons were built, they would have been made from wood and could not survive in most climates for two thousand years."^[2]

It appears that most charriots during Book of Mormon times did not survive, just like during the Exodus which the "six hundred chosen chariots"( Exodus 14:6) and "all the chariots of Egypt " (Exodus 14:6) did not survive in the sea. (Exodus 14:26-28)

Wheels

Only wheels in ancient toys in Mesoamerica have been found.

LDS Author wrote:

"If the wheels in general use at that time were wooden, which is most likely, we would not expect to find evidence of them today because of the poor preservation factor caused by the high humidity of Mesoamerican lowlands."^[3]

Conclusion

 ^{[needs work]}

Endnotes

1. [note] David A. Palmer, In Search of Cumorah: New Evidences for the Book of Mormon from Ancient Mexico (Bountiful: Horizon, 1981) 67
2. [note] David A. Palmer, In Search of Cumorah: New Evidences for the Book of Mormon from Ancient Mexico (Bountiful: Horizon, 1981) 67
3. [note] David A. Palmer, In Search of Cumorah: New Evidences for the Book of Mormon from Ancient Mexico (Bountiful: Horizon, 1981) 122

None

Further reading

FAIR web site

• FAIR Topical Guide: