The Book of Mormon names specific animals as part of Nephite and Jaredite civilization. The key Nephite passage is 1 Nephi 18:25: upon arriving in the promised land, the Lehites find "beasts in the forests of every kind, both the cow and the ox, and the ass and the horse, and the goat and the wild goat, and all manner of wild animals." Enos 1:21 adds: "flocks of all manner of cattle of every kind, and goats, and wild goats, and also many horses."
The Jaredite record (Ether) adds elephants, cureloms, cumoms, bees, and serpents. Ether 9:19: "they also had horses, and asses, and there were elephants and cureloms and cumoms, all of which were useful unto man, and more especially the elephants and cureloms and cumoms." Ether 2:3 describes the Jaredites carrying bees ("deseret") with them. Ether 9:31-33 describes poisonous serpents hedging up the way southward, driving people before them, causing famine and death.
The text assumes a world with domesticated herds, multiple species of large quadrupeds, and pastoral infrastructure. "Flocks and herds" is not a one-time mention; it is the baseline economic description of both Nephite and Jaredite societies.
Note on periods: Nephite references (~600 BC to 400 AD) apply to most items. Elephant, curelom/cumom, bee, and serpent references are primarily Jaredite (~2500-600 BC), extending the relevant window significantly.
Same 0-4 scale as other categories. For fauna, the key distinction is between presence (the animal exists in the wild in the region), availability (the animal is available for human use), and domestication/pastoral use (the animal is part of a herding or working tradition). Higher scores require not just wild presence but functional correspondence with how the BOM describes the animal's role.
The BOM names horses repeatedly (1 Nephi 18:25; Enos 1:21; Alma 18:9-12; 3 Nephi 3:22; Ether 9:19). Horses are ridden, used for chariots, and kept in stables.
| Model | Score | Justification |
|---|---|---|
| Mesoamerican | 0 | Horses (Equus spp.) went extinct in the Americas approximately 11,000-10,000 BC. No equids of any kind existed in Mesoamerica during the BOM period. The gap between extinction and the BOM period is at least 9,000 years. No loan-shift candidate (tapir, deer) is plausible as a ridden or chariot animal. |
| Heartland | 0 | Same extinction chronology. No equids in eastern North America. |
| Malay | 0 | Horses are not native to tropical SE Asia. Earliest evidence of horses in the archipelago is 10th century CE (Bali); the Malay peninsula interior lacked horses even in the colonial period. Environmental conditions (tropical heat, disease) are hostile to horse breeding. |
| Baja | 0 | No horses. |
| Panama | 0 | No horses. Same American extinction. |
| Mexican Highland | 0 | Same as Mesoamerican. |
| South India | 3 | Horses were present in Sangam-period South India, imported via the Arabian Sea maritime trade. Pliny the Elder reports 10,000 horses shipped annually to the Tamil region; the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (1st century CE) documents the trade. Sangam poetry references horses in warfare and royal contexts. 1st-century BC inscriptions mention Tamil (Damila) merchants involved in the horse trade. The Arthashastra discusses horse management, breeds, and veterinary care in detail. Score of 3 rather than 4 because horses were imported, not indigenous to the region, though the scale of import (10,000/year per Pliny) indicates they were widely available, not rare exotics. |
"The cow and the ox" (1 Nephi 18:25). Cattle are a basic component of the Nephite economy, mentioned alongside other herd animals.
| Model | Score | Justification |
|---|---|---|
| Mesoamerican | 0 | No bovids of any kind in the Americas. No domestic cattle, no wild cattle, no functional equivalent used as draft or dairy animals. |
| Heartland | 0 | No cattle. Bison (Bison bison) were present in the region but were hunted, not domesticated, and not used as draft animals. Score 0 rather than 1 because the BOM describes cattle as part of herds, not as wild game. |
| Malay | 2 | Water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis, swamp type) was the primary draft animal, domesticated independently in mainland SE Asia approximately 3,000-7,000 years ago. Buffalo served the functional role of cattle: plowing, draft, transport, and meat. This is a genuine large bovid used in agricultural and pastoral contexts, though it is not Bos taurus. Score of 2 for a real bovid draft animal tradition that parallels the BOM's cattle references without being cattle per se. |
| Baja | 0 | No large domesticated animals. |
| Panama | 0 | No bovids. |
| Mexican Highland | 0 | Same as Mesoamerican. |
| South India | 4 | Zebu cattle (Bos indicus) were central to Sangam civilization. The Mullai tinai (pastoral landscape) was defined by cattle herding. Cattle herders (idaiyar) were a recognized social group. Cattle were used for dairy, draft (plowing, transport), and featured in cultural practices. Sri Lankan zebu breeds are genetically closest to Hallikar cattle of the Mysore region. The Arthashastra details cattle management, veterinary care, and dairy economics. This is a full structural match: cattle as the backbone of a pastoral-agricultural economy. |
"The ass" (1 Nephi 18:25; Ether 9:19). Listed alongside horses and cattle.
| Model | Score | Justification |
|---|---|---|
| Mesoamerican | 0 | No equids. |
| Heartland | 0 | No equids. |
| Malay | 0 | Donkeys not native to or used in tropical SE Asia. |
| Baja | 0 | No donkeys. |
| Panama | 0 | No equids. |
| Mexican Highland | 0 | No equids. |
| South India | 2 | Donkeys were used in India as pack and transport animals. The Arthashastra mentions donkeys. They were low-status animals but functionally present. Specific Sangam-period literary references are sparse, and donkeys were more prominent in northern and western India (Rajasthan, Gujarat). Score of 2 for presence in the broader Indian system without strong Sangam-specific attestation. |