The Know

The prophet Mormon, in his account of the people of Nephi, described a series of destructive events which occurred in the American land of promise at the time of Christ’s death at Jerusalem (3 Nephi 8–10). Latter-day Saint scholars have argued that these events seem consistent with phenomena associated with one or more volcanic eruptions in ancient Mesoamerica, the most likely area in the Western Hemisphere for such catastrophic activities to have occurred. Recent work by Mexican archaeologists now points to a major volcanic disaster in Central Mexico during the Spring of the early First Century A.D.

Patricia Plunket and Gabriela Urunuela documented a significant eruption of the Popocatepetl volcano. During that event the site of Tetimpa was covered under a massive layer of volcanic ash. The cataclysm created a column of tephra 20 to 30 km high and is believed to have caused “an ecological disaster of unprecedented proportions.”

Plunket and Urunuela argue that this massive eruption was a leading cause of significant demographic changes in the Basin of Mexico resulting in the abandonment of most of the settlements in the southern region of the valley in which between 80–90% of the population became concentrated around the site of Teotihuacan. They estimate that as many as 20,000 people in the Basin of Mexico may have perished in the disaster, while as many as 50,000 relocated further north to the city.

The fires, smoke, lava flows, and other phenomena during the eruption had a similar calamitous effect on the eastern side of the mountains, where populations were reduced by “as much as 30%” and “became concentrated at Cholula and a few other settlements.” This disaster and the relocation and incorporation of as many as one-hundred thousand refugees into major centers like Cholula and Teotihuacan would likely have “accelerated social and ideological processes already underway” in Central Mexico significantly impacting the development of these Mesoamerican cultures.

The archaeologists characterize this Popocatepetl eruption as “one of the largest human catastrophes of the prehispanic period” and think that the trauma of the event may have even left distant echoes in Mesoamerican tales such as the Aztec “Legend of the Suns.” That story describes the destruction of an earlier epoch as follows:

Fire rained down, so that those who were there were burned. Also gravel rained down. They say that the gravel we find was strewn at this time. Also the lava stone boiled. And the various rocks that are red were deposited then.

The Why

Mormon’s account names six cities which were destroyed by fire at this time. One of these, the city of Zarahemla, was located in the land southward (3 Nephi 8:8, 24; 9:3). The location of the other cities is less clear (3 Nephi 9:9–11), although one is said to have been located in “northernmost part of the land” (3 Nephi 7:12). The Puebla region and the Basin of Mexico would be at the northernmost extremity of current Mesoamerican models of Book of Mormon geography, but some have suggested that groups of Nephite migrants to the north (Alma 63:4–8; Helaman 3:3–16) may have settled in that region as well.

Initial reports from the archaeological team tentatively placed the eruption toward the end of the first century AD. Now, evidence from 14 radiocarbon dates and cultural materials retrieved from the ash buried houses at Tetimpa show that the eruption “probably took place during the first half of the first century AD.” Furthermore, evidence from crops, seasonal cooking patterns, and the direction of the wind in the dry and winter season, lead them to suggest “the most likely time [of the eruption] is late March or April.”

The dating of the eruption may be significant when compared with recent estimates by biblical scholars dating the death of Jesus at Jerusalem to 14 Nisan (Judean Calendar) which corresponds with April 6 (Julian Calendar) AD 30. Our knowledge of natural history, including volcanic events in ancient Mesoamerica, is of course limited and perspectives and interpretations may change based on future information and discoveries. Still, the magnitude of the Popocatepetl disaster, its likely effects on central Mexico, in light of evidence for the date of the eruption, and its timing during the early Spring of the year seem to be a remarkable correlation with the description in the Nephite record.

This KnoWhy was made possible by the generous contributions of Bill and Linda Perry.