Some Book of Mormon students try to pinpoint Lehi's landing based on 1 Nephi 18:24. Since the seeds the Lehites brought with them from Jerusalem flourished "in abundance" in the New World promised land, advocates of this theory say the point of debarkation must have been in a latitude similar to Jerusalem's latitude (31.77 N) because you can't just plant seeds from place X in new place Y and expect them to grow well. If this theory is correct, it would imply a Lehite landing at about Ensenada, Baja California on the Pacific Coast or the Georgia sea islands on the Atlantic.
I have never been persuaded by this argument for several reasons.
- Microclimates exist. For example, I have been to the Chateau deFay vineyards on the slopes of Agua Volcano near Antigua, Guatemala. At 1,700 meters elevation, grapes (vitis vinifera) used in winemaking grow well despite conventional wisdom that you can't make grape wine in the tropics. See the blog article "King Noah's Wine."
- Staple food crops literally travelled around the world in the great Columbian exchange. Corn (zea mays), for instance, is the #1 economic crop on the planet and is grown in more than 170 nations. Potatoes and tomatoes are among the top 10 economic crops in the world and are grown in well over 130 nations. See the blog article "Food Crop Staples."
- The great Greek historian Herodotus in his Histories (Book 4.42) records the circumnavigation of Africa ca. 600 BC by Phoenician sailors commissioned by Pharaoh Necho II (reigned 610 - 595 BC). The voyage from the Red Sea around Africa and back to the Mediterranean took 3 years. Since the sailors could not take enough food for that long of a voyage, they took seeds with them. They went ashore every autumn, planted seeds, waited for the crop to grow, harvested the food they needed, and then resumed their voyage.
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| Route of Philip Beale's Phoenicia Around Africa |
I am reminded of the famous line from the movie Jurrasic Park: "Life finds a way."
