Anthropologist Thomas Murphy returns to Mormon Book Reviews to respond to Rod Meldrum's recent appearance on my program. In a balanced attempt to seriously look at the Heartland Model, Murphy begins by giving a positive analysis of the the Firm Foundation's approach and model. He discusses Jonathan Neville's contribution of using "Multiple Working Hypotheses" to approach the various geography models. The role Faith and Science is discussed. Thomas then gives a very thorough analysis and critique of Rod's Model including DNA and it's role in determining Native American ancestry, Race being a social construct, a proper understanding of human evolution and origins, Mound Builder myths, FIRM Foundation misrepresents itself as doing proper indigenous peoples research, and much more. Thomas finishes by proposing a Book of Mormon Alternative Origin Model. This was a great interview and I hope will lead to more dialog and discussion. Maybe it will lead to Thomas and Rod having lunch one day!

Links to Thomas' books on MBR YouTube