Anachronisms in the Book of Mormon 1000 years before the Jaredite record in the Book of Mormon begins. The main point of contention is how late these animals were present in the Americas before becoming extinct. Various Mormon authors have cited evidence that North American mound-builder cultures were familiar with the elephant. The oldest mound-builder societies date to around 2000 BC. The mound builder/elephant controversy did not originate with the Book of Mormon. In "The Mound Builders, Their Works and Relics", author Stephen Dennison Peet cites instances of exhumed mastodon remains and arguments given for why the remains were believed to be contemporary with mound builders.
Boaz mastodon and Anderson Mills mastodon Boaz mastodon and Anderson Mills mastodon The Boaz mastodon is the skeleton of a mastodon found near Boaz, Wisconsin, USA, in 1897. A fluted quartzite spear point found near the Boaz mastodon suggests that humans hunted mastodons in southwestern Wisconsin. Although the mastodon on display at the Geology Museum has long been known as "the Boaz Mastodon", it was recently discovered that two bones from the Boaz mastodon were combined with many bones from a different individual, the Anderson Mills Mastodon, to form a composite skeleton. Following a heavy rainfall on July 10, 1897, the sons (Harry, Chris, Verne, Clyde)