Shields and Armor

With such projectiles in play, as well as weapons of close combat such as swords, it would be no more than common sense that shields of some kind would also have been developed. The Book of Mormon mentions a number of types of shields and body armor—breastplates, arm-shields, and shields for the dead (Alma 43:19, 38; Helaman 1:14). Mesoamerican art displays and documentary sources describe varieties of protective gear that were similar in nearly all features to the shields and armor spoken of in the text.

Military historian Hamblin compares a wide range of armor and shields used in the Near east and Mesoamerica with what is described in the Book of Mormon. In summary, he found that “the armor terminology of the Book of Mormon accurately reflects many of the technical differences between armor in the ancient Near East and that in Mesoamerica. The Book of Mormon uses biblical terms when the armor from the ancient Near East and Mesoamerica are similar, but it gives different terms when the armor differs and does not use biblical terms for types of Near Eastern armor that are not found in Mesoamerica.” Furthermore, “the Book of Mormon text presents an internally consistent description of armor that is also consistent with the general pattern of the use of armor in Pre-Modern times [according to the general weapons literature]. Second, the description of armor in the Book of Mormon closely matches the pattern of armor used among the Pre-Classic and Classic Mesoamericans.”

Of interest also is the use of “thick clothing” as ramor both in Mesoamerica and in the Book of Mormon lands. Adoption of this innovation by the Nephites is reported in Alma 43:19-20—“they were dressed with any such thing” but were virtually naked. In an interesting case of cultural diffusion, we learn that two years later the Lamanites returned, having “prepared themselves with garments of skins, yea, very thick garments to cover their nakedness” (49:6). No further mention is made of these coverings, but presumably they were used thereafter when and where they were considered useful.

The Spanish conquerors of Mexico made “thick clothing” armor famous by commenting on its effectiveness in their histories and adopting in themselves at times. Not just the Aztecs but other Mesoamerican societies used this mode of protection. “Quilted cotton armor . . . was a common element of battle attire in Mesoamerica. It was constructed of unspun cotton tightly stitched between two layers of cloth.” It was so strong (being up to two fingers thick) that normally an arrow or even at atlatl dart would rarely penetrate it. There is no reason not question that the Nephite “thick clothing” was made on the same principle as that of the Mexicans and their neighbors 1,600 years later. Not all warriors had armor, however. Roys reported that “ordinary [Maya] warriors seem to have worn only a loincloth.” The Book of Mormon has both Nephite and Lamanite soldiers at times wearing the same limited garb (Enos 1:20; Alma 4:5; 43:20; 3 Nephi 4:7).