History: Mormon’s assumption that the Lamanites learned about writing only from the Nephites is the kind of cultural jingoism we have seen him manifest already. Mesoamerica had already developed writing systems, even though their evolution and distribution are not well understood. Perhaps this particular group of Lamanites did not know how to write, but I find the assertion suspicious because most of the “Lamanites” here are actually former Nephites who had “converted” to Lamanitism. Surely they would have taken their knowledge with them, and they should have been the majority in this area. I see rather that Mormon simply assumed that the Lamanites learned everything of value from the Nephites.