Cultural: The most problematic statement in this verse is that Shule “did molten out of the hill, and made swords of steel.” Neither steel nor the smelting process is known for this period of time in Mesoamerica. However, even the use of the term steel is problematic, as it may be a linguistic mislabeling. We simply cannot tell who used the word steel to translate whatever was in Ether’s record.
Hamblin and Merrill suggest:
“Finally, we need to understand that Mosiah translated Ether’s plates into social and linguistic concepts with which he was familiar. Mosiah, as king, possessed Laban’s sword, a steel weapon that was passed down as one of the insignia of royalty. In translating Ether’s record, Mosiah might thus have given the Jaredite kings steel swords, like the one he himself possessed, because in Mosiah’s society a king was expected to have a steel sword as his royal weapon.” (William J. Hamblin and A. Brent Merrill. “Swords in the Book of Mormon.” Stephen D. Ricks and William J. Hamblin, eds., Warfare in the Book of Mormon [Salt Lake City and Provo: Deseret Book Co., Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1990], 347.)
The metal that might have been “molten” and which does at least have a time depth to the Jaredite/Olmec time period is iron:
“Iron use was documented in the statements of early Spaniards, who told of the Aztecs using iron-studded clubs. A number of artifacts have been preserved that are unquestionably of iron; their considerable sophistication, in some cases, at least suggests interest in this metal. (That is not surprising, since even a culture as simple as the Eskimo found iron—from meteors—valuable.) Few of these specimens have been chemically analyzed to determine whether the iron used was from meteors or from smelted ore. The possibility that smelted iron either has been or may yet be found is enhanced by a find at Teotihuacan. A pottery vessel dating to about A.D. 300, and apparently used for smelting, contained a “metallic-looking” mass. Analyzed chemically, it proved to contain copper and iron. Linne, the same Swedish archaeologist who made that find, accepted a piece of iron found in a tomb at Mitla, Oaxaca, as probably refined.
Without even considering smelted iron, we find that peoples in Mesoamerica exploited iron minerals from early times. Lumps of hematite, magnetite, and ilmenite were brought into Valley of Oaxaca sites from some of the thirty-six ore exposures located near or in the valley. These were carried to a workshop section within the site of San Jose Mogote as early as 1200 B.C. There they were crafted into mirrors by sticking the fragments onto prepared mirror backs and polishing the surface highly. These objects, clearly of high value, were traded at considerable distances. (This archaeologically established mineral processing was taking place within the valley that chapter I identified as the probable Jaredite land of Moron. The Jaredite record, a few centuries before the date of the San Jose Mogote finds, tells of the king who confined craftsmen who refused to pay taxes. There he compelled them to refine “his fine gold”—Ether 10:7.)” (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], 285.)
It is plausible, but obviously not certain, that the “molten/steel/swords” might have been the equivalent of the wooden macuahuitl lined with metal instead of obsidian, as was attested in some of the later Aztec cases. The obsidian had a much better cutting edge, but was not as durable.
Chronology: The average reign rule would place the rule of Shule at 1060 to 1030 B.C. However, the length of Shule’s reign may have been longer than the average, while others would have been shorter. Evidence noted below will suggest that Shule lives to his late seventies or into his eighties.
“He Did Molten Out of the Hill and Made Swords Out of Steel”
Cultural: The most problematic statement in this verse is that Shule “did molten out of the hill, and made swords of steel.” Neither steel nor the smelting process is known for this period of time in Mesoamerica. However, even the use of the term steel is problematic, as it may be a linguistic mislabeling. We simply cannot tell who used the word steel to translate whatever was in Ether’s record.
Hamblin and Merrill suggest:
“Finally, we need to understand that Mosiah translated Ether’s plates into social and linguistic concepts with which he was familiar. Mosiah, as king, possessed Laban’s sword, a steel weapon that was passed down as one of the insignia of royalty. In translating Ether’s record, Mosiah might thus have given the Jaredite kings steel swords, like the one he himself possessed, because in Mosiah’s society a king was expected to have a steel sword as his royal weapon.” (William J. Hamblin and A. Brent Merrill. “Swords in the Book of Mormon.” Stephen D. Ricks and William J. Hamblin, eds., Warfare in the Book of Mormon [Salt Lake City and Provo: Deseret Book Co., Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1990], 347.)
The metal that might have been “molten” and which does at least have a time depth to the Jaredite/Olmec time period is iron:
“Iron use was documented in the statements of early Spaniards, who told of the Aztecs using iron-studded clubs. A number of artifacts have been preserved that are unquestionably of iron; their considerable sophistication, in some cases, at least suggests interest in this metal. (That is not surprising, since even a culture as simple as the Eskimo found iron—from meteors—valuable.) Few of these specimens have been chemically analyzed to determine whether the iron used was from meteors or from smelted ore. The possibility that smelted iron either has been or may yet be found is enhanced by a find at Teotihuacan. A pottery vessel dating to about A.D. 300, and apparently used for smelting, contained a “metallic-looking” mass. Analyzed chemically, it proved to contain copper and iron. Linne, the same Swedish archaeologist who made that find, accepted a piece of iron found in a tomb at Mitla, Oaxaca, as probably refined.
Without even considering smelted iron, we find that peoples in Mesoamerica exploited iron minerals from early times. Lumps of hematite, magnetite, and ilmenite were brought into Valley of Oaxaca sites from some of the thirty-six ore exposures located near or in the valley. These were carried to a workshop section within the site of San Jose Mogote as early as 1200 B.C. There they were crafted into mirrors by sticking the fragments onto prepared mirror backs and polishing the surface highly. These objects, clearly of high value, were traded at considerable distances. (This archaeologically established mineral processing was taking place within the valley that chapter I identified as the probable Jaredite land of Moron. The Jaredite record, a few centuries before the date of the San Jose Mogote finds, tells of the king who confined craftsmen who refused to pay taxes. There he compelled them to refine “his fine gold”—Ether 10:7.)” (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], 285.)
It is plausible, but obviously not certain, that the “molten/steel/swords” might have been the equivalent of the wooden macuahuitl lined with metal instead of obsidian, as was attested in some of the later Aztec cases. The obsidian had a much better cutting edge, but was not as durable.
Chronology: The average reign rule would place the rule of Shule at 1060 to 1030 B.C. However, the length of Shule’s reign may have been longer than the average, while others would have been shorter. Evidence noted below will suggest that Shule lives to his late seventies or into his eighties.