Critics of the Book of Mormon cite references to the Nephites’ and Jaredites’ “silks” and “fine-twined linen” as proof that the book is flawed. It is true that cultural records for pre-Columbian America mention neither silk nor linen, and that European conquerors apparently did not find silkworms or flax when they arrived in the Americas. However, several fabrics have recently been identified in ancient Mesoamerica that could reasonably be termed “silk” and “linen.”
Various Mesoamerican fabrics were considered silk (or its equivalent) by the Spanish invaders; one of these fabrics was spun from cocoons gathered from wild trees. Likewise, the word “linen” often applies to types of cloth not made from flax but having similar characteristics. It is now known that in pre-Spanish America, native people made at least two kinds of cloth using a process similar to the one used to make linen, using the leaves of the ixtle, maguey, or agave plant. (See Echoes, 289–292.)