The latest book news.

While things have currently been quiet in the area of firesides, Daniel has been working on updating chapters on what we hope to be our book on the Yucatán. We haven't heard much from our publisher lately, so he has been contacting them to find out just how things are going. Specifically, we are trying to convince them that publishing An LDS Guide to the Yucatán would be a worthwhile endeavor, especially if it came out in 2012. The current sales numbers we have from them state that over 2700 copies of our book have been sold. We know it has actually been more than that, because Daniel has purchased many boxes to sell at events he has attended, and those don't count toward sales. These numbers look good to us, but we don't really know how they look to professionals in the book publishing industry. Cedar Fort and some LDS bookstores have been offering drastically reduced prices on our book recently, so if you still haven't picked up your copy of An LDS Guide to Mesoamerica, now might be the time.

Some original Yucatán chapters have been revised already, and we are pleased to be able to offer a PDF of our chapter on Chichén Itzá. It is perhaps the best known ancient site in Mexico, and probably the most visited. The Book of Mormon comparisons from this site include Quetzalcoatl, Human Sacrifice, Bearded Toltecs, Warfare, the Underworld, Metal Weapons and Tools, Rule by Councils and Judges, Indigenous Horses, Plates of Gold, and Writing of Unknown Origin. This should be an interesting read, so please read it and let us know what you think. Chichén has been in the news lately because, much to our amazement, new excavation work has been done there since we last visited and  earlier structures have been found under the plaza around the Pyramid of Kukulcan. Also in the works is a new museum dedicated to ancient Maya culture of the area and officials are planning to feature some gold plates found at the Sacred Cenote. It just goes to show that there is always some new mystery to uncover here.

Click here to download the PDF.
Website for Cedar Fort, our publisher

Article on metal plates up at the BMAF website

The Book of Mormon Archaeological Foundation has published Daniel's latest article on ancient metal plates. Originally, he was asked by a representative of the BMAF to write an article responding to the announcement a few months ago of various ancient books or codices made from bound lead plates that were supposedly discovered in Jordan.

This seemed like a fascinating find, but the more he looked into it, the more suspicious these artifacts became. Most experts denounced them on many grounds and while there is no final word on the matter, it does appear that they are probably modern forgeries. But if they are, it means that the idea of ancient metal books is now widely supported. Daniel's article also includes many examples of non-controversial genuine ancient plates, mainly from the Mediterranean area, made from gold and other precious metals.

Click here to read Daniel's article on the BMAF website.
Click here to download a multi-page, formatted PDF of the article.