Cultural: The nature of the “sword” in the Book of Mormon has been the subject of much heated debate. For those who suggest that the Book of Mormon is of modern origin, they point to the anachronism of the term sword in reference to any of the populations of the Western hemisphere prior to contact with European civilizations. On the other hand, others point to Mesoamerican weapons that have also been labeled as “swords” even though they have more technical names. This verse becomes one of the points in issue because it specifically speaks of a sword with a point. The argument for the anti-Book of Mormon camp would be that this indicates a sword with a point for thrusting, a comment to be followed by the assertion that there were no such weapons in Mesoamerica.
This verse does not completely clarify the issue, because it is unclear as to the functionality of the “point” of the sword:
“Only in one case is there description of a “sword” with any kind of point: a Nephite soldier “smote” a Lamanite leader, accidentally scalping him; then he carefully picked up the scalp, “laid it” on the “point” of his sword (rather than spearing it, as we might expect), and raised it aloft (Alma 44:12-13). This odd description fails to make clear exactly how the weapon looked.” (John L. Sorenson, An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon [Salt Lake City and Provo: Deseret Book Co., Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1985], 262.)
Regardless of the possible interpretations of having the scalp “laid” upon the point of the sword, there are pointed weapons known for Mesoamerica:
“Be that as it may, some pre-Columbian “swords” were clearly pointed, as several Mesoamerican codices clearly show. According to Hassig, “Drawings indicate rectangular, ovoid, and pointed designs.” The Mendoza Codex, for example, shows Aztec and Tlaxcalan warriors with pointed, wood-bladed swords. One of the most impressive battle scenes portrayed in Maya art can be found at the three-room palace of Bonampak in Chiapas, Mexico. On the west wall of room 2, ”A large leaf-shaped blade with a short handle is brandished by a warrior at the top center left of the battle.“ This weapon is clearly pointed. Some Mesoamerican stone-bladed swords were definitely pointed as well. According to Solis, when marching to battle, the Tlaxcalans ”carried their Macanas, or two-handed Swords, under the Left Arm, with their Points upward.“ White ignores evidence for this in Hamblin’s original article, which shows an early representation of a pointed macuahuitl in the right hand of the warrior figure at the Loltun Cave. The structure of this weapon is very similar to the obsidian-pointed macuahuitl held in the hand of a Tlaxcalan noble during Aztec times. Examples of the curved Mesoamerican blade, which Hassig calls a ”short sword,“ are also known to have had points of obsidian. (Matthew Roper. Review of: James White. ”Of Cities and Swords: the Impossible Task of Mormon Apologetics." FARMS Review of Books, 9:1: 1997.)