“And They Did Make All Manner of Tools”

Brant Gardner

This set of information tells us that the Jaredites were a people who were advanced in civilization, because they could manipulate their environment through tools. One of the hallmarks of larger populations and civilizations is this very manipulation of the environment as opposed to the lifestyle of a hunter-gatherer. The phrase “they did work all manner of work of exceedingly curious workmanship” echoes later Aztec references to the Toltecs. For the Aztecs, the Toltecs were the quintessential civilization, providing the best of everything. In fact, in the Aztec language, “Toltecness” (toltecayotl) was the term for artistry.

In the ancient world, the feats of the ancestors in the mists of history were frequently both honored and mythologized. There appears to be some of that process occurring here. In the history of Mesoamerica, such a veneration of the Olmec civilization would be imputed from the number of cultural items that were borrowed form them, including, it appears, the beginnings of the Maya hieroglyphs, as well as the underpinnings of Mesoamerican religion and politics.

Multidimensional Commentary on the Book of Mormon

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