Archaeology, Mormonism, and the Claims of History

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (“Mormonism”) is one of the fastest growing religions in the world today (Stark 1998a, b), including India, where membership (especially in the South) has increased dramatically over the last decade. With notable exceptions (e.g., Leone 1979; Murphy 1999; Olsen 2000; Rodseth and Olsen 2000), however, Mormonism has been neglected in the anthropology of religion. The purpose of this paper is to act as a corrective to this imbalance by addressing changes in Mormonism’s conception of itself as a world religion that makes certain claims about its own history. Specifically, I examine Mormonism’s claim – possibly unique among the major world religions-- that a large part of its scriptural tradition took place in ancient America. My purpose is not to explore the history of this claim, nor to take any position on its validity. Instead, I explore the claim itself as it unfolds with reference to a particular domain, Mesoamerican archaeology, and a particular object – the so-called “Tree of Life ” stone (also known as Izapa Stela Five) that some Mormons occasionally cite as archaeological evidence for the ancient American origins of the Book of Mormon. Diffusionist narratives that postulate a link between native American and Middle Eastern cultures significantly predate Mormonism. As early as 1640, for example, Thomas Thorowgood publishe