Across the period 3100 BCE–400 CE, the Book of Mormon references a set of animals, crops, materials, and technologies that lack support in the archaeological record of the pre-Columbian Americas. Commonly cited examples include:

• Old World domesticates (animals): ass (donkey), cow/ox (cattle), horse, domesticated sheep, goats, swine, and elephants.

• Old World crops: wheat and Old-World barley.

• Materials & textiles: silk (sericulture).

• Metals & weaponry: steel, swords, scimitars.

• Vehicles: chariots.

Apologetic explanations often appeal to loan-shifts (e.g., “horse” for deer or tapir), semantic broadening (e.g., “silk” for fine plant fibers), or translation choices; and there are occasional claims of outlier finds (e.g., late horse remains or barley). However, these proposals remain contested and have not changed the mainstream archaeological consensus. As a result, the items above are frequently discussed as anachronisms in critical evaluations of the text.