Design, Fashion and Weapons

I had to send in some thoughts on designs for my book cover and map. I'm very excited about each. One thing I had to stress is my Nephite Warriors cannot look like Aztecs/Mayan's.

Why you may ask? This post is not meant to start a debate, but for me to explain a thimbles worth of my own logic, which goes against the popular trends. So why don't I think Nephites would look like Aztec's?

Because why on Earth would Nephites look like Aztecs? They wouldn't. Nothing in the BoM suggests that they would wear Aztec clothing. They had thick clothing and armor to put fear into the hearts of the Lamanites because they were protected, Lamanites weren't at least until they got wise. The BoM describes them (Lamanites) as being shaven headed and wearing nothing but skins about their loins. Show me a single stelae in Mesoamerica with a Lamanite like that. So despite lack of evidence in Mesoamerica for metal-smithing (For one thing, thats not where Zarahemla was anyway) why would people suggest that, other than to push their own flawed agenda?

I can't stand the Captain Moroni pictures or statues where they take the classic Friberg pose and redress him as a heathen Aztec. Do you really think Captain Moroni would wear a gaudy, functionally worthless feather headdress because that was the style? Does the man who could make Hell quake, seem like a guy that would wear something so superfluous. And IF he wouldn't who else would? For as much as the Fribergs get bashed online nowadays I can't help but think they are closer to the truth than most other representations.

The BoM says that Nephi forged swords similar to the Sword of Laban. FORGED! So that means he made them like all ancient blacksmiths did. Not attaching sharp pieces of volcanic rock to sticks. Don't get me wrong, a Maquahuitl will mess somebody up. Conquistadors reported skilled Aztec warriors decapitating horses with them, but I still would deem it an inferior weapon compared to a steel Nephite sword.

These are my personal weapons that are essentially the same for a major character in my Book of Mormon series. I trust them more than I would stone. I had to get the warhammer for a character after finding in my voluminous research, an etching of a similar warhammer dating from Nephite times. My first thought was, Yea, thats Amaron's.