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Writer's picturestephenstrent7
Aug 235 min read

Cement and Deforestation


A burning forest in Brazil, Wikimedia


Where Science Meets the Book of Mormon: Come Follow Me Lesson: August 26 – September 1; Helaman 1-6


These six chapters include numerous incidents and stories that could, and should, be discussed in much greater detail — such as political unrest and intrigue, including an inside attempt to destroy liberty (chapter 1); the rise of the Gadianton robbers (chapters 1, 2 and 6); the creation of numerous records (Helaman 3:13-16); a description of the land where it was a day’s “journey for a Nephite” “from the west sea, even unto the east” (Helaman 4:7); and Nephi and Lehi being engulfed by fire that did not consume them (chapter 5). However, I have chosen the topics of deforestation and cement, as described in chapter 3.


We read in Helaman 3:3-11, “…there were an exceedingly great many who departed out of the land of Zarahemla, and went forth unto the land northward to inherit the land…they came to large bodies of water and many rivers…they did spread forth into all parts of the land, into whatever parts it had not been rendered desolate and without timber, because of the many inhabitants who had before inherited the land…And now no part of the land was desolate, save it were for timber; but because of the greatness of the destruction of the people who had before inhabited the land it was called desolate…And there being but little timber upon the face of the land, nevertheless the people who went forth became exceedingly expert in the working of cement; therefore they did build houses of cement, in the which they did dwell…And the people who were in the land northward did dwell in tents, and in houses of cement, and they did suffer whatsoever tree should spring up upon the face of the land that it should grow up, that in time they might have timber to build their houses, yea, their cities, and their temples, and their synagogues, and their sanctuaries, and all manner of their buildings…And it came to pass as timber was exceedingly scarce in the land northward, they did send forth much by the way of shipping…And thus they did enable the people in the land northward that they might build many cities, both of wood and of cement.”


There is often confusion in our common language between “cement” and “concrete.” Cement is a binder or glue, some types of which may be mixed with gravel or sand to make concrete or mortar. However, we often say “cement sidewalk” or “cement foundation” when we actually mean concrete sidewalk or foundation. I have no idea what symbol Joseph Smith saw on the Gold Plates that was rendered “cement.” Helaman presumably was writing in what Nephi called “the language of the Egyptians” (1 Nephi 1:2) and what Mormon called “reformed Egyptian” (Mormon 9:32).


There is no single Egyptian hieroglyph for cement, concrete, or mortar. However, there are single symbols for house, stone, and what might be a trowel for applying mortar to build a house.


There apparently were around 900 distinct, single hieroglyphic images in Egypt at the time of Lehi’s departure, but the Egyptians also used symbols as letters or sounds (apparently around 25 of them). When I used LingoJam to translate “cement” into ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, I got 𓎢𓅂𓅓𓅂𓈖𓏏 for cmnt. However, I don’t think cmnt was the Egyptian word for cement — I don’t know what word they used, if any; I have been unable to ascertain any ancient Egyptian word for cement, concrete, or mortar.


According to Dale Andrews, writing in 2009 about the history of concrete, stated in an article in the Association of Environmental Engineering and Geologists website, “The oldest known example of concrete construction comes from the ancient Egyptians. The Egyptians used a type of concrete made from a mixture of mud, straw, and gypsum to build their pyramids, the oldest of which was built over 4,500 years ago. However, this early type of concrete was relatively weak compared to more modern examples of concrete, such as that later developed by the Greeks and Romans.”1 A chemical engineer, Joseph Davidovitz, investigating some blocks of the Pyramids of Giza, found a hair and a fossil shell embedded in a block of limestone, and concluded that perhaps the stone was not of natural origin, but could have been made of some sort of concrete.2 

However, Kathryn Bard, an Egyptologist at Boston University and author of the book, An Introduction to the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt, does not agree. She stated, “The blocks were quarried locally and dragged to the site on sleds. There is just no evidence for making concrete, and there is no evidence that ancient Egyptians used the stuff.”3 


In 2018, Deborah Van Hoewyk proposed, “…ancient [Mayan] builders realized that the blocks should be mortared together with cement, which actually increased the flexibility of large structures, i.e., pyramids.  It is thought that Mayans ‘discovered’ hydraulic (Portland or ferro) cement, which hardens when mixed with water and fillers, from observing the effects of fire on limestone. At any rate, perhaps as early as 300 BCE, the Mayans had sophisticated kilns to reduce limestone to cement.”4 However, I have seen no discussion of whole buildings being made of concrete in pre-Columbian America.


Turning to the issue of the deforestation of the desolate land “northward,” as described in Helaman 3:3-11. The most extreme case of such desolation is that of Easter Island — or, more correctly, Rapa Nui. According to radiocarbon dating, Rapa Nui was settled by Polynesians from other parts of the Southeast Pacific, around 900 AD. There may have been as many as 16 million trees on the island when the first settlers arrived, but they quickly began clear-cutting the forest — or maybe the trees were gnawed down by the rats that had come with the settlers — more likely a combination of both. Clear-cutting apparently peaked around 1400, and by the time the Dutch explorer, Jacob Roggeveen, “discovered” Rapa Nui on Easter Day, 1722, the island was completely deforested.5 

    

What followed the deforestation was an environmental disaster of epic proportions: without trees the ecosystem collapsed; without a balanced ecosystem, fresh rain water was not retained, but washed off into the ocean; without fresh water land crops diminished; without trees, fishing boats or even escape boats could not be built; with escape being impossible, resources were scarce — except for the rats, which the natives apparently ate in large quantities; infighting occurred over the limited resources, until only a fraction of the population remained. Although Rapa Nui’s unique ecology may have made it more vulnerable to deforestation, the island’s story should provide an unsettling warning to contemporary ecological destruction on much larger scales.6 


According to a 2012 report by Cook et al., “Droughts in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica caused significant societal disruptions during the Late Classic (600-900 AD) and Post-Classic (900-1519 AD) Periods. While the primary causes of these droughts are still debated, it has been speculated that they may be linked to extensive deforestation associated with high population densities during these intervals.”7


According to the World Resources Institute’s Global Forest Watch, over 66 million hectares of tropical primary forest have been clear-cup in the past twenty years, and another 10 million hectares have been lost to fire. Brazil accounted for about one third of the deforestation in 2022 and 2023.8 

 

Trent Dee Stephens, PhD

 

References

 

1.     Andrews, Dale, Ancient Concrete: How it Stood the Test of Time; Association of Environmental Engineering and Geologists, 2009; aegweb.org/index.php?option=com_dailyplanetblog&view=entry&category=geology&id=57:ancient-concrete-how-it-stood-the-test-of-time; retrieved 19 August 2024

3.     Did the Great Pyramids' builders use concrete?, New York Times, 2008 nytimes.com/2008/04/23/world/africa/23iht-pyramid.1.12259608.html; retrieved 19 August 2024

4.     Van Hoewyk, Deborah, theeyehuatulco.com/2018/04/27/building-mexico-the-many-faces-of-mexican-concrete; retrieved 22 August 2024

6.     Ibid

 

 

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