Animals in the Book of Mormon: Challenges and Perspectives

When the Book of Mormon first appeared, skeptics said that references to horses, asses, elephants, and other animals (such as swine and cows) were out of place. The authors of this study use archaeological evidence to argue the animals mentioned in the Book of Mormon had once been present in North America, although dating to an earlier period than that covered in the Book of Mormon, and could have survived even into the Lehite period.

 

First, they discuss Book of Mormon geography, preferring the Mesoamerican theory. They then address the topic of domestication, cross-cultural naming challenges, the extinction of animals, and the difficulty of identifying an extinction date for any animal. They then examine the individual animals mentioned in the Book of Mormon, including the unidentified cureloms and cumoms.