Riplakish uses forced labor to build his cities, which is not contradicted by the archaeological record (though also difficult to confirm); but having prisoner-artisans create “fine gold” objects is archaeologically anachronistic. It may be Moroni’s addition to the story. Joseph would have seen gold as the standard for such work. However, in Olmec times, the most valuable material would have been jade. (See commentary accompanying Jacob 2:12–13.) I hypothesize that the original text had jade, something with which Joseph would not be familiar, and that Joseph substituted his cultural equivalent.