Book of Mormon writing

An excellent summary of the problem of archaeology and BoM writing was provided by James Warr. It can be found at http://www.geocities.com/jwarr87480/response.html

3. Evidence of Writing.
One of the points that [John Clark has] made previously, and that [Clark] reassert[s] in [his]review is that there should be surviving evidence of a written language, because of course the Nephites were literate and kept extensive written records. This of course would tend to eliminate Costa Rica as a possible site as there is little evidence of written records in the archeological record or pre-conquest cultures. However this assertion is based on the assumption that the Nephite records or writing system would somehow survive, at least in part. Is it possible that this assumption is erroneous? Isn't it just as likely that every vestige of Nephite culture would have been eradicated by their zealous enemies, the Lamanites? Consider what some of the Nephite prophets have said.

Jacob. We know that the things which we write upon plates must remain; But whatsoever things we write upon anything save it be upon plates must perish and vanish away. (Jacob 4:1-2.)

Enos (speaking of the Lamanites). For at the present our strugglings were vain in restoring them to the true faith. And they swore in their wrath that, if it were possible, they would destroy our records and us, and also all the traditions of our fathers. (Enos 1:14.)

Mormon. And it came to pass that when we had gathered in all our people in one to the land of Cumorah, behold I, Mormon, began to be old; and knowing it to be the last struggle of my people, and having been commanded of the Lord that I should not suffer the records which had been handed down by our fathers, which were sacred, to fall into the hands of the Lamanites, (for the Lamanites would destroy them) therefore I made this record out of the plates of Nephi, and hid up in the hill Cumorah all the records which had been entrusted to me by the hand of the Lord, save it were these few plates which I gave unto my son Moroni. (Mormon 6:6.)

Several things can be derived from these scriptures.

First, although the Nephites apparently wrote upon perishable materials, they knew that only those things written on plates would endure. (Note: this is a good indication that they did not write on stone. If they had written on stone, such records would have endured. No where in the record is it stated or implied that they wrote on stone as did the Olmec and Maya. The only instance of such writing is that of Coriantumr and he was a Jaredite.)

Second, the Lamanites (except for periods of righteousness) had sworn to, intended to, and probably succeeded in destroying any Nephite records which came into their hands. (The Spanish conquerors weren't the only ones who destroyed another culture's history.)

Third, not only did the Lamanites want to destroy Nephite records and scriptures, they intended to destroy Nephite traditions and culture.

Fourth, a major part of the Nephite's struggle with the Lamanites was precisely to preserve their records, religion, and culture which was distinct from that of the Lamanites.

Fifth, all surviving records written upon plates which had been passed down through the kings and prophets were hidden by Mormon in Cumorah, except those given to Moroni which were later deposited in the New York Cumorah.

From the above, I have formed the opinion that following the annihilation of the Nephites, the Lamanites did their best to extinguished every trace of Nephite society and culture. In such a scenario, one would not expect to find surviving examples of Nephite script, much as when the Hysos kings were driven out of Egypt and all record of their reign erased, including the history of Joseph.

One additional point regarding Nephite script. The glyphic writing of the Maya, Olmec, etc. in no way resembles the example of the Reformed Egyptian that we have from the Anton Transcript, so it doesn't follow that the evidence of writing in Mesoamerica proves anything in relation to Book of Mormon geography.