Steel, Horses, Chariots, and Other Things That Didn't Exist in Ancient America
If the First Vision was Mormonism's origin story, the Book of Mormon is its core product. It claims to be "Another Testament of Jesus Christ", a sacred historical record written by ancient Israelites who traveled from Jerusalem to the Americas around 600 BC. Sounds epic. But here's the problem: it reads like someone in 1829 wrote it with a Bible in one hand and a 19th-century farm boy's imagination in the other. Why? Because it's full of things that didn't exist in the ancient Americas. These are called anachronisms, details, technologies, or concepts placed in a time period where they don't belong. And the Book of Mormon is riddled with them. Let's go shopping in Joseph's ancient fantasyland and see what we find.
Steel and Iron
"And I did make weapons of war, of every kind, and I did arm them with bows, and with arrows, with swords, and with cimeters, and with all manner of weapons of war."
— 2 Nephi 5:14
"He did molten out of the hill... a sword of fine steel."
— Ether 7:9
Steel. In the Americas. Around 600 BC. Nope. Here's what we know from actual archaeology:
Ancient American cultures like the Maya and Olmec never smelted iron or steel. They used stone, obsidian, and bronze, not advanced metallurgy. No evidence of steel production, furnaces, forges, slag, or steel tools has ever been found in Book of Mormon-era Americas. If massive civilizations were wielding steel swords in the jungles of Central America, we'd have at least one piece in a museum by now. But we don't. Because it never happened.
Horses
"And it came to pass that they took their horses, and their chariots..."
— Alma 18:9
"Now when Lamoni had heard this he caused that his servants should make ready his horses and his chariots..."
— Alma 20:6
If you thought steel was bad, say hello to horses. Real history shows that horses went extinct in the Americas around 10,000 years ago and weren't reintroduced until the Spanish arrived in the 1500s. And even then, their presence left immediate, widespread impact. But according to the Book of Mormon, people were riding and using horses like it was ancient Jerusalem with hay-filled stables. Where are the bones? The bridles? The riding equipment? Chariot parts? There is zero archaeological trace of domesticated horses during Book of Mormon timeframes (600 BC–400 AD). You'd have better luck finding a dinosaur with a saddle.
Chariots and Wheeled Vehicles
"And he caused that his servants should stand by his chariots and convey him whithersoever he should go."
— Alma 18:9–10
You might think chariots are poetic or symbolic. But Alma clearly says they were used for transportation, "conveying" people from place to place. Now here's the kicker:
Mesoamerican cultures knew of the wheel, they used it in children's toys. But they never used it for transportation. No carts. No wagons. Definitely no chariots. Why? Because the terrain wasn't suitable, and they didn't have draft animals like oxen or horses. So again, this is Joseph Smith writing what he thought an ancient people might have used, without realizing it made zero archaeological sense.
Wheat and Barley
"And we began to till the ground, yea, even with all manner of seeds, with seeds of corn, and of wheat, and of barley..."
— Mosiah 9:9
Historical fact:
Wheat and barley were Old World crops, from the Middle East. They did not exist in the pre-Columbian Americas. Instead, Native American agriculture focused on corn, beans, squash, quinoa, and other indigenous plants. The mention of wheat and barley is another giveaway that the author of the Book of Mormon was writing from a New York farming context, not a Mesoamerican one.
Other Anachronisms
Cows and oxen: Not native to the Americas until after Columbus.
Donkeys, goats, sheep: Also Old World animals.
Silk and linen: No evidence of either being produced or used in ancient America.
The Biblical Standard for History and Prophecy
The Bible talks about places like Egypt, Babylon, Jerusalem, and Rome, and guess what? We've found them. We've dug up temples, coins, scrolls, weapons, and inscriptions that confirm the people, geography, and events. Meanwhile, the Book of Mormon gives us:
A war with two million dead bodies (Ether 15:2)
Entire cities being burned, buried, and sunken (3 Nephi 8–9)
A people who "did build buildings of cement in the land" (Helaman 3:7)
And not a trace of it has ever been found. Not a single Lamanite coin. Not a Nephite sword. Not a Zarahemla city plan. Nothing.
Common LDS Deflections (And Why They Fail)
"We just haven't found it yet."
Archaeologists have found ancient arrowheads from 10,000 years ago. You're telling me we missed a war with 2 million casualties?
"The Book of Mormon happened in a limited geography."
Great, then why can't you even show me that? Not even a single hill that fits the story.
"It's a spiritual book, not a history book."
Then stop calling it "the most correct book on earth" (Joseph Smith, History of the Church 4:461). If it's not real history, it shouldn't make historical claims.
Fiction Dressed in Gold Leaf
If the Book of Mormon were a novel, it'd be creative fanfiction. But if it's claiming to be history inspired by God, then it has to line up with real history. The Book of Mormon describes a world that never existed. The deeper we dig, literally and figuratively, the clearer that becomes. And if the foundation is fiction, the whole house collapses. Truth leaves a trail. And this book? Leaves nothing.