According to Hunter and Ferguson, on his famous journey from Mexico City to Honduras in 1524-1525 A.D., Cortez passed through certain towns in what is now the state of Campeche of the Gulf Coast Maya area. Speaking of these towns, the following was written: "All villages mentioned were surrounded by a deep moat, a high stockade of cut poles, and defensive towers of wood." [Milton R. Hunter and Thomas Stuart Ferguson, Ancient America and The Book of Mormon, p. 273]
Alma 50:6 Moroni did prepare strongholds . . . about every city in all the land ([Illustration]): Defensive earthworks in Peten, Guatemala, and in Yucatan, Mexico. [Joseph L. Allen, Exploring the Lands of the Book of Mormon, p. 302] [See also the illustrations for Alma 49:13]
Alma 50:6 Moroni did prepare strongholds . . . about every city in all the land ([Illustration]): Table 1 Fortified and Defensive Sites by Period. Table 1 includes thirty-four regions of Mesoamerica in which more than two hundred specific places were fortified and over one hundred others were considered to have been sited with military defense in mind. The materials are drawn from over seventy-five publications. [John L. Sorenson, Fortifications in the Book of Mormon Account," in Warfare in the Book of Mormon, F.A.R.M.S., p. 427]
Alma 50:6 Moroni did prepare strongholds . . . about every city in all the land ([Illustration]): Table 2 Fortified and Defensive Sites by Period. Table 2 gives site counts according to ten chronological periods [of Mesoamerica]. [John L. Sorenson, Fortifications in the Book of Mormon Account," in Warfare in the Book of Mormon, F.A.R.M.S., p. 429]
Alma 50:6 Moroni did prepare strongholds . . . about every city in all the land ([Illustration]): Table 3 Periods of Appearance of Fortification Features. Table 3 summarizes what can be said about these Mesoamerican fortification sites. Abbreviations are for the periods designated in Table 2: E. Pr. = Early Pre-Classic, Pro. Cl. = Proto-Classsic, Ep. Cl. = Early Pre-Classic, Pro. Cl. = Proto-Classic, Ep. Cl. = Epi-Classic, and so on. Dates for the periods are also given in Table 2. [John L. Sorenson, Fortifications in the Book of Mormon Account," in Warfare in the Book of Mormon, F.A.R.M.S., p. 430]
Alm 50:6 Moroni did prepare strongholds...about every city in all the land ([Illustration]): Defensive earthworks in Peten, Guatamala, and in Yucatan, Mexico. [Joseph L. Allen, Exploring the Lands of the Book of Mormon, p 302]