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Ten parcels of land, totaling more than 800 sq. miles was mapped, but this is just a small part of the large northern jungles of Guatemala, known as the Petén. It is likely that much more would be discovered if the unmapped areas were to be scanned. Because of these latest finds, the current estimate for the Maya population at its height is between 10 and 15 million. This is a surprisingly high number when compared to previous estimates.
The final battles of the Book of Mormon record large numbers involved in the fighting. In the past, these numbers seemed hard to justify, but as finds like these keep being announced, they are easier to believe. It should be pointed out that much of the Maya civilization existed after the end of the Book of Mormon, so these finds don't related directly to its history. But large populations among the Nephites, Lamanites, and other groups mentioned in this scripture are no longer a strong reason to discount it.
Read more about these discoveries at National Geographic.
2 comments:
I have a question. 230,000 died at the battle of Hill Cumorah in New York, correct??? How could a population with the size big enough to have 230,000 people (IF THE WHOLE POPULATION WAS KILLED) or big enough to have an army of just men equal to 230,000 feed each other. There was no industrial farming. They would have to kill millions of deer anually just to stay alive???? Help me understand.
Randy, I really do appreciate your following and comments on my little blog posts. But I just don't know if I can help you understand something if you really don't want to. First of all, there's no requirement for the last BoM battle to have taken place in New York. Most LDS scholars favor a limited Mesoamerican model for its events. And if you don't think there was farming on a massive scale to feed millions of people during that time period in Mexico, Guatemala, etc., then you are ignoring quite a large body of the latest non-LDS scholarship on that subject.
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