Archaeology and History: AD 200 to 400 (nine of 17) In this period the cult of the Feathered Serpent (specifically at Teotihuacan and presumably elsewhere in Mesoamerica) was syncretized with variant cults. The Book of Mormon reports that in the third century “the church” of Jesus Christ lost its dominance among the Nephites as rival belief arose. Wealth expanded dramatically in step with a rise in trade and population in this period, both in Mesoamerica and according to the Nephite record. The rise of factions, perhaps based on ethnic and cult differences, complicated governance and distinguished localities and regions from each other in much of Mesoamerica during the third and fourth centuries. Ethnic/tribal rivalries were renewed among Book of Mormon groups around the same time; no unified, widespread government existed. Militaristic imagery became common in art, and fortifications indicate that warfare now became a feature of some cultures in Mesoamerica. In the third century mass warfare became general between the Nephites and Lamanites across the (old) border between their traditional territories. Around AD 350 the Central Depression of Chiapas was depopulated almost totally due to war instigated by foes from Guatemala. The basin of the Sidon river or land of Zarahemla and isthmian possessions of the Nephites (identified as mainly the Central Depression of Chiapas) were largely emptied of their population at the around AD 350 when the Nephites retreated northward from Lamanite aggression. Nephites and Lamanites made a calendrical appointment in setting up their climactic battle in the land of Cumorah. Mesoamerican commanders made such appointments for battle on an astrological basis. Human sacrifice appears in the archaeological record by the fifth century AD; the Nephite historian reports its appearance among Lamanites in the fourth century. Secret organizations were instrumental in the social chaos and warfare reported in the Nephite account for this period. Although their exact nature is unclear, they were engaged in the final fighting under the label “robbers.” Several kinds of clandestine or semi-clandestine societal units known in Mesoamerica may fit in that category. Genocidal war, as in the case of the Lamanites who exterminated Nephite society near AD 400, is the ultimate end of conflict according to the Book of Mormon. The Mesoamerican record of the Terminal Classic era, a few centuries later, shows a similar historical result. John Sorenson
Posted on: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 18:38:40 +0000