The recent news item is hardly groundbreaking or surprising. Here’s a grouping of related published science, going back as far as 1996:
- Steve Olson, Mapping Human History: Discovering the Past Through Our Genes, [Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. 2002], p. 114. (Highlight: Non-Mormon scientists have found Semitic DNA among Native Americans.)
- Virginia Morrell, “Genes May Link Ancient Eurasians, Native Americans,” Science, 280:520 [April 24, 1998 and April 11, 2004] (Highlight: Non-Mormon scientists have found genetic links between Native Americans and Middle Easterners.)
- Carvajal-Carmona, L.G., et.al.“Strong Amerind/White Sex Bias and a Possible Sephardic Contribution among the Founders of a Population in Northwest Colombia,” American Journal of Human Genetics, 67 [5] 1287-1295 [Nov.2000]. (Highlight: Non-Mormon scientists have found the presence of several indicators of Jewish ancestry among Antiquian populations of Colombia.)
- M.F. Hammer, et.al., “Jewish and Middle Eastern Non-Jewish Populations Share a Common Pool of Y-Chromosome Biallelic Haplotypes,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 97[12]:6769- 74 [June 6, 2000]. and T.M. Karafet, et.al., “Ancestral Asian Source(s) of New World Y-Chromosome Founder Haplotypes,” American Journal of Human Genetics, 64[3]:817-831 [March 1999]. (Highlight: Non-Mormon scientists have found Haplogroup 1c and 4 among Jews and among the Cheyenne and Zapotec tribe of America.)
- Brown, M.D. et. al., “mt DNA Haplogroup X: An Ancient Link Between Europe/Western Asia and North America?” American Journal of Human Genetics, 63 [6]: 1852-1861 (Dec.1998); also P. Forster, R. Hardin, A. Torroni, and H.J Bandelt, "Origin and Evolution of Native American mt DNA Variation: a Reappraisal, "American Journal of Human Genetics, 59: 935-954 [1996]; also R.L Parr, S.W. Carlyle, and D.H. O’Rourke, “Ancient DNA Analysis of Fremont Amerindians of the Great Salt Lake Wetlands,” American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 99:507-518 [1996]. (Highlight: Non-Mormon scientists have found DNA Haplogroup X, sometimes referred to as Haplotype N, in the Middle East and among the Fremont Indians.)
- James L. Guthrie, “Human Lymphocyte Antigens: Apparent Afro-Asiatic, Southern Asian, and European HLAs in Indigenous American Population,” Pre-Columbiana, Vol.2, Nos.2 and 3, Dec. 2000/June 2001, pp.90-163. (Highlight: Non-Mormon scientists have found significant evidence of Middle Eastern genes entering America before Columbus by analyzing human lymphocyte antigens. They found that the A1 antigen was found in Palestine and in the Andes. They found that the B14 allele was carried from the Near East to the Eastern Maya, the Nahua, and the Cherokee populations. They found the B*21 allele in frequencies greater than 15% in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Palestine as well as in Uto-Aztecan populations as a Central Amerind composite.)
I think Janderich’s post is valid. No, there isn’t any DNA proof for Book of Mormon claims. All those big words above, that make all our eyes glaze over, don’t prove the BoM true. But they do pretty much kill statements like “
DNA has proven Joseph Smith to have lied”, or “
the DNA evidence completely contradicts the Mormon position”, or “
DNA has proven joe smith wrong”. Defending false statements isn’t a good strategy.
DNA science is very picky and specific in what it proves and disproves. Neither side of the mormon debate can make a DNA science banner and march to it’s drumbeat - because it really says very little about the debate either way. And the world is divided into two groups of people - those who understand that fact, and those who don’t.
Texan’s tactics on this thread are evidence that he understands. Critics of my faith would be well advised to follow his lead, and whenever a Mormons says “DNA”, change the subject to archaeology or geography.
