When Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon, most Americans knew relatively little about the Arabian Peninsula. If Americans thought anything of this region, they probably considered it a desert without the trees that could have been used to build a ship. However, recent evidence suggests that ancient Oman, where Bountiful was almost certainly located, boasted accomplished seamen and shipbuilders. Therefore, we know that the wood and other materials necessary for shipbuilding must have been obtainable in that region when Nephi and his family resided there. (See Echoes, 128–129.)