In 1994, Steven Jones asked himself the following question: In view of the Book of Mormon account of Christ's visit to the Americas after his death in which he let them "feel the prints of the nails in [his] hands and in [his] feet" (3 Nephi 11:14), and since artwork around the Mediterranean Sea shows the resurrected Jesus with marks in his hands and feet, did the same thing apply in Mesoamerica? He began a search for symbolic hand markings in ancient Mesoamerican artwork portraying a deity with deliberate markings on his hands. The following is a collection of brief excerpts from an article reporting on his work:
One of the first sculptures which he came across was of a Mayan deity known as Itzamna, or "the old god." A non-LDS Mayanist described him in the following way:
Chief of the beneficent gods was Itzamna. He was the personification of the east, the rising sun with all of its manifold mythical associations . . . As light is synonymous with life and knowledge, he was said to have been the founder of the culture of the Itzas and the Mayas. He was the first priest of their religion. (Daniel Brinton, American Hero-Myths).j
Many sources indicate that Itzamna later became identified with Quetzalcoatl (the Aztec feathered-serpent god) who was called by the Maya Kukulcan. And a number of LDS scholars have associated Quetzalcoatl with Jesus Christ. With this in mind, the following sculptural evidence proves interesting.
Figure 1 (see below) shows the sculpture of Itzamna and an accompanying line drawing. George E. Stuart and Gene S. Stuart describe the sculpture as ". . . the exalted Itzamna, lord of sky and earth" (The Mysterious Maya, 97). And Robert Elliot Smith describes the line drawing as "Itzamna, the old god . . . [with] prominent cheekbones, markedly Hebraic nose . . ." (The Pottery of Mayapan, 50-52). According to Michael Coe, Itzamna can be traced in the hieroglyphic record to "the mid-second century after Christ" (Early Steps, 117). Note the pronounced holes in the hands or wrists. . . .
3 Nephi 11:14 Arise and come forth unto me . . . that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am . . . the God of the whole earth ([Illustration]): Figure 1: Sculpture of Itzamna, lord of sky and earth, with accompanying line drawing. [Steven E. Jones, Behold My Hands: Evidence for Christ's Visit in Ancient America," in Jace Willard ed. The Book of Mormon Archaeological Digest, Volume II, Issue III. Orem: Book of Mormon Tours, 1999, p. 2]
Figures 3a and 3b (see below) show photographs of ancient painted capstones from a Mayan temple in the Yucatan peninsula, from a ruin known today as Dzibilnocac. Eric Thompson suggests that the paintings depict God K of the Maya (F. Nelson, personal communication), who is sometimes identified with Itzamna (Nicholas P. Dunning, Lords of the Hills: Ancient Maya Settlement in the Puuc Region, Yucatan, Mexico, 142). The original painting on the upper right (3b) is badly faded, but if you search near the center of the painting you will see a clear black spot on the palm of this deity's hand. In fact, the spot on the hand is among the clearest surviving features on this painting. The line drawing (Figure 3d) retains this circle on the back of the hand, but shows only an open circle whereas the Mayan artist clearly filled in the spot on the hand. The other capstone (Figures 3a and c) also shows the deity with a circular marking on the palm of the hand. (The fingers are not detailed in this case.)
3 Nephi 11:14 Arise and come forth unto me . . . that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am . . . the God of the whole earth ([Illustration]): Figure 3 a-d: Figures 3a and 3b are painted capstones from a Maya temple in the Yucatan Peninsula, of which figures 3c and 3d are line drawings. H. E. D. Pollock and W. R. Bullard, Jr., Monographs and Papers in Maya Archaeology I, 1970, p. 31. Line drawings by Clifford Dunston. [Steven E. Jones, Behold My Hands: Evidence for Christ's Visit in Ancient America," in Jace Willard ed. The Book of Mormon Archaeological Digest, Volume II, Issue III. Orem: Book of Mormon Tours, 1999, p. 3]
The Latter-day Saints understand that the crucifixion of Christ involved nails through both hands and wrists. In Mesoamerican art, Figure 7 (see below) is a stone carving at Yaxchilan, depicting marks in both the hand and wrist.
3 Nephi 11:14 Arise and come forth unto me . . . that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am . . . the God of the whole earth ([Illustration]): Figure 7 (a) Photograph taken by David E. Jones of a stone carving at Yaxchilan; (b) Drawing by Clifford Dunston. [Steven E. Jones, Behold My Hands: Evidence for Christ's Visit in Ancient America," in Jace Willard ed. The Book of Mormon Archaeological Digest, Volume II, Issue III. Orem: Book of Mormon Tours, 1999, p. 6]
While studying Mesoamerican artwork, Steven Jones observed that hands in various orientations are frequently used as hieroglyphs in Mayan writing, literally numbering into the thousands--and nearly all of these hand symbols bear the peculiar spot motif.
Figure 10 is taken from Piedras Negras, Guatemala, and provides a typical example of marked hand symbolism in Mayan hieroglyphic writing. I should mention that a Mayan stone carving may show an actual hole in the hand, while the modern line-drawing of the carved glyph often simply uses a circle. Sometimes the modern line drawer fills in the circle, but usually just open circles are depicted.
3 Nephi 11:14 Arise and come forth unto me . . . that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am . . . the God of the whole earth ([Illustration]): Figure 10: Stela 3 from Piedras Negras, Guatemala. These are a few of the many examples of marked hand iconography in the Maya hieroglyphics. (J. Marcus, Mesoamerican Writing Systems, 1992, p. 348) [Steven E. Jones, "Behold My Hands: Evidence for Christ's Visit in Ancient America," in Jace Willard ed. The Book of Mormon Archaeological Digest, Volume II, Issue III. Orem: Book of Mormon Tours, 1999, p. 14]
Figure 11 shows Maya glyphs representing "the god of the seventh day." Noted Mesoamerican scholar Eric Thompson has this to say relative to these hieroglyphics:
[Note] the close relationship between Maya hieroglyphic writing and religion, for there is no doubt that many of the forms and perhaps the names of hieroglyphs have religious connotations" (Thompson, Mayan Hieroglyphic Writing, 9) . . . As in the case of several of the day signs already examined, the design has been shown to reproduce a characteristic attribute of the deity to whom the day was dedicated; it is virtually certain that the hand is the symbol of the god of the seventh day. . . . The hand is also associated with Itzamna . . ." (Thompson, Mayan Hieroglyphic Writing, 76)
3 Nephi 11:14 Arise and come forth unto me . . . that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am . . . the God of the whole earth ([Illustration]): Figure 11: Maya glyphs representing "the god of the seventh day." [Steven E. Jones, Behold My Hands: Evidence for Christ's Visit in Ancient America," in Jace Willard ed. The Book of Mormon Archaeological Digest, Volume II, Issue III. Orem: Book of Mormon Tours, 1999, pp. 2-3, 11, 14]
Evidently the marked or imprinted hand is connected to deity--in particular with Itzamna, the great Mayan deity previously discussed. It should be noted that one name of this deity is Kabal, the Great Hand, or Maker with His Hands.
In conclusion, Jones found these correlations striking and significant, for the hand with a hole or circle marking associated with Itzamna/Quetzalcoatl is precisely the same symbol Christ chose for his bleeding on the cross and subsequent triumph over death (John 20:24-28; 3 Nephi 11:14-17). Christ was also closely associated with the seventh day in the Hebrew calendar: "For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day" (Matthew 12:8). [Steven E. Jones, "Behold My Hands: Evidence for Christ's Visit in Ancient America," in Jace Willard ed. The Book of Mormon Archaeological Digest, Volume II, Issue III. Orem: Book of Mormon Tours, 1999, pp. 2-3, 6, 11, 14]