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==Question: Did swords exist in Pre-Columbian America during the Book of Mormon time period?== | ==Question: Did swords exist in Pre-Columbian America during the Book of Mormon time period?== | ||
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For other photos of how shiny obsidian can be here: <small>{{ObsidianImage1}}, {{ObsidianImage2}}, {{ObsidianImage3}}</small> | For other photos of how shiny obsidian can be here: <small>{{ObsidianImage1}}, {{ObsidianImage2}}, {{ObsidianImage3}}</small> | ||
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− | + | [[es:Pregunta: ¿Existen espadas en la América Precolombina?]] | |
[[pt:Pergunta: Será que existem espadas na América pré-colombiana durante o período do Livro de Mórmon?]] | [[pt:Pergunta: Será que existem espadas na América pré-colombiana durante o período do Livro de Mórmon?]] | ||
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Some critics have charged that no Pre-Columbian swords existed at all. This is clearly false; evidence from Pre-Columbian art supports the idea that there were swords as early as the Pre-classic.[1] Non-LDS authors have often used the term "sword" for such weapons.[2]
Scott Brian, a graduate student of Archaeology at BYU, has made several reconstructions of a macuahuitl, the ancient Mesoamerican weapon often termed a "sword"—the term the Spaniards used when they faced this fearsome weapon that could cut better than metal swords.
See photos of the modern reconstruction: Photo 1 Photo 2 Photo 3
One chronicle described the macuahuitl's ability to decapitate a horse:
Some Book of Mormon passages make less sense if the reference to "sword" is read as a European-style, metallic sword.
For example, the Anti-Nephi-Lehi group described how the atonement of Christ had miraculous made their swords "bright" again, after being stained with the blood of murder:
Wiping blood from a metal blade is simple—cleaning such a weapon is no miracle. However, the wooden-hafted macuhuitl would absorb the blood, making it almost impossible to clean. The "brightness" of the sword blades matches well with obsidian fragments. Obsidian was polished into mirrors, and gleamed brightly. The Spaniard Torquemada described obsidian as
a stone which might be called precious, more beautiful and brilliant than alabaster or jasper, so much so that of it are made tablets and mirrors....[4]
For other photos of how shiny obsidian can be here: Image 1, Image 2, Image 3
Notes
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