A Case for the Ohio River Valley

I think one of the archeological evidences for Book of Mormon events occurring here in North America are the fortresses described in 3rd Nephi. This is the time of the Great Siege I wrote about a year ago. There is evidence among the Hopewell ruins in the Ohio River valley which I think fit well with what happens in the Book of Mormon.

From it, we get the sense Zarahemla is to the West and Bountiful is to the East. Between them is the “center of the land” where the Nephites and Lamanites go to outlast the Gadianton Robbers. Next to Zarahemla is the Sidon River. Here’s how I see the match.

Zarahemla to the West: Havana Hopewells. The older Hopewell sites are along the West side of the Mississippi and run South to Florida. The ruins in the Appalachian mountains aren’t considered Hopewell because they use a different mode of burial. Interestingly enough, the mode these people use is more like how the Egyptians did it than the Hopewells. I’m just sayin’.

Bountiful to the East: Ohio Hopewells. The archaeological evidence shows the Hopewells migrated East and then began to shrink towards upstate New York. There, the last of their culture disappears around 450-500 AD. Cumorah anyone?

The Center of the Land: Crab Orchard Culture. This is the interesting part. In Southern Illinois there is an escarpment running the length of the state. If you look at the Ohio River to the East and where it joins the Mississippi to the South and with the Mississippi to the West, you see a bowl. Running in a line forming the rim of the bowl is the escarpment and all along it are the ruins of ancient fortresses. Picture yourself… you have wide rivers that are impassable by armies on three sides: East, South and West. Along the North side you have the escarpment and at the top of it, running its full length are these fortresses. It would be a great place for a large population to outlast an enemy.

Obviously, I don’t know for certain, but it’s a compelling match of what’s described in the Book of Mormon with what exists unmistakably in the archeology. Even the timing is right. Is it? It seems like it to me. The Meso-America advocates will disagree, but that’s what makes it fun to debate these things.