FAIRwiki:Sandbox

This article is a draft. FAIRwiki editors are currently editing it. We welcome your suggestions on improving the content.

Armor

Book of Mormon armor does not match the type of armor that Joseph Smith would have been familiar with, nor does it reflect European styles of armor:

19 And when the armies of the Lamanites saw that the people of Nephi, or that Moroni, had prepared his people with breastplates and with arm–shields, yea, and also shields to defend their heads, and also they were dressed with thick clothing—Alma 43:19

Quilted armor

This description matches Mesoamerican quilted armor:

"The garment worn by this figure is believed to represent the quilted armor worn by warriors, but the elaboration of the costume and its accoutrements suggest a figure of high rank and noble status." Costumed Figure, 7th–8th century -- Mexico; Maya Ceramic, pigment; H. 11 17/32 in. (29.3 cm) (1979.206.953) – Metropolitan Museum of Art Note the pectoral ("breast plate"). Note that this figure post-dates the Nephite period.

From William J. Hamblin, “Armor in the Book of Mormon", p. 413; in Warfare in the Book of Mormon, edited by Stephen D. Ricks & William J. Hamblin, (Provo, Utah: Deseret Book Co. and FARMS, 1990). Note the arm shields and pectoral. Note that this figure post-dates the Nephite period.

Arm shields

"Mayan “arm shield”, from Stela 17, Dos Pilas, Tetexbatun, Guatemala, Around A.D. 733"; from William J. Hamblin, “Armor in the Book of Mormon", p. 415; in Warfare in the Book of Mormon, edited by Stephen D. Ricks & William J. Hamblin, (Provo, Utah: Deseret Book Co. and FARMS, 1990). Note that this image post-dates the Nephite period.

Breastplates

"Mayan headdress and “pectoral” [chest or breastplate] hung or attached around the neck. Stela 16, Dos Pilas, Tetexbatun, Guatemala, Around A.D. 733. William J. Hamblin, “Armor in the Book of Mormon", p. 414; in Warfare in the Book of Mormon, edited by Stephen D. Ricks & William J. Hamblin, (Provo, Utah: Deseret Book Co. and FARMS, 1990).Note that this image post-dates the Nephite period.

Fortifications

The moat at Bécan in the Yucatan is 16 meters wide, and covers a distance of 2 kilometers. The enclosed city covers 25 hectares (almost 62 acres). Reconstruction, on-line at http://mayaruins.com/becan.html

Artist’s rendering of Bécan fortifications [AD 100-250]; From John L. Sorenson, Images of Ancient America: Visualizing Book of Mormon Life (Provo, Utah: Research Press, 1998), 133 (Andrea Darais, artist).

“Bécan” earthworks, fortifications from Early Classic period (250-400 AD) David L. Webster, Defensive Earthworks at Bécan, Campeche, Mexico: Implications for Mayan Warfare (New Orleans: Middle American Research Institute, Tulane University, Publication 41, 1976), 3.

Note the modern highway in the upper left corner! [Gives a sense of the scale.] David L. Webster, Defensive Earthworks at Bécan, Campeche, Mexico: Implications for Mayan Warfare (New Orleans: Middle American Research Institute, Tulane University, Publication 41, 1976), 3.

John L. Sorenson, "Fortifications in the Book of Mormon Account Compared with Mesoamerican Fortifications" (Table 2, p. 429) in Stephen D. Ricks & William J. Hamblin, (eds), Warfare in the Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1990), 425-444. The first number indicates "Definitive" sites; the second is "possible" sites.

Weapons

Scott Brian, a graduate student of Archaeology at BYU, has made several reconstructions of a macahuitl, the ancient Mesoamerican weapon that can be described as a wooden club with sharp obsidian blades. Another term that can be legitimately used is "sword" — a term the Spaniards used when they faced this fearsome weapon that could cut better than metal swords.

• Photo 1
• Photo 2
• Photo 3