The mound building civilization, which has been dated to between 1000-500 B.C. and A.D. 400-500, was comprised of independent villages and cities which were dotted all across the eastern woodlands. Much of its population dominated the Ohio valley with other pockets filling up regions along the Mississippi, Missouri, and Illinois Rivers. Yet modern authorities such as Prufer and Dragoo believe this civilization had its origins in New York before spreading into other territories. Since mounting evidence indicates the Mound Builders and the Nephites were one and the same, and since the only known landmark we have is in New York (the Hill Cumorah), this must be the place to begin our search for the elusive lands of the Book of Mormon.

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Obviously, this small territory did not contain the entire Nephite or Lamanite population, for the scriptures tell us many left their homeland from time to time and began to populate regions beyond the bounds of Book of Mormon territory. Thus, only the limited regions of western New York can rightly be described as the territory occupied by those whose history is contained in the Book of Mormon.