Ether 10:23 states that the Jaredites made "all manner of metals." According to Warren and Palmer, perhaps we might find a link to Jaredite "metals" in the linguistic data of Mesoamerica. It has been shown that the ancient Proto-Mixe-Zoque language was that of at least some of the people who inhabited San Lorenzo and the surrounding Olmec area. The linguistic data confirm some of the cultural traits mentioned in connection with that city which are difficult to confirm archaeologically. It is particularly interesting to note that they had a word for "metal." [Bruce W. Warren and David A. Palmer, The Jaredite Saga, p. 8-7, unpublished]
“They Did Make All Manner of Metals”
According to Glenn Scott, in Ether 10:23 we have recorded one of the most controversial claims in the Book of Mormon, "they did work all manner of ore . . . they did cast up mighty heaps of earth to get ore, of gold, and of silver, and of iron, and of copper." Archaeologists agree that Mesoamericans were using gold, silver , and copper when the Spanish came, but do not support this early date, and of iron they admit no evidence at all.
However, in the early 1970s, the University of Michigan undertook a major archaeological project in the Oaxaca Valley of Mexico. There the found "an iron ore workshop," dated about 1200 B.C. They later found thirty four mining areas in that valley.
Ilmenite and magnetite were used to make mirrors in Oaxaca about 1474 B.C., and Michael Coe found at San Lorenzo an Olmec magnetite pointer which he says may have been part of a floater compass.
In the Old World, iron was known almost as early as other metals. The Bible credits it to pre-Flood Tubal Cain (Genesis 4:22). Verneil Simmons writes that "the start of true metal-working was in Asia Minor, in the vicinity of Lake Van, in the shadow of Mount Ararat." [Glenn A. Scott, Voices from the Dust, pp. 53, 55]
Ether 10:23 They did work in all manner of ore ([Illustration]): Museums Are Full of Metal Tools from Ancient Mesoamerica: (a) The author photographed these bronze implements at the National Museum of Anthropology; (b) Awls from Lake Chapala, Michoacan; (c) Chisel and axe from Mitla, Oaxaca; (d) Tweezers from Michoacan; (e) Copper axe in wood handle from a Tzintzuntzan grave; (f) Copper tools from an unknown source in Mexico; (g) Hardened copper chisel from Oaxaca. [Glenn A. Scott, Voices from the Dust, p. 54]
“They Did Make Iron, and All Manner of Metals”
In Ether 10:23 we find that the Jaredites "did make . . . iron." According to Warren and Palmer, when the Olmec culture first started, this was also the time when the first concave iron ore mirrors appeared. Such iron mirrors have been discovered in a number of locations, including the archaeological site of San Lorenzo in Southern Mexico. Several are on display in the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City (see illustration).
Iron beads have also been found at a number of Olmec sites. It has been reported that altogether 2131 iron pieces have been discovered. (Agrinier, Pierre, 1984:77)
At the site of San Jose Mogote (located just north of the city of Oaxaca, Mexico) a form of iron called Magnetite was worked between 1000 and 850 B.C. Scores of mines were in use extracting iron, and four located in the valley of Oaxaca have been identified by Ferreira as the source of iron used at that time (1976:317) [Bruce W. Warren and David A. Palmer, The Jaredite Saga, pp. 8-10,11,12, unpublished]
Ether 10:23 They did make . . . iron ([Illustration]): Chunks of magnetite ore and remnants of very smooth iron mirrors which were found by the University of Michigan in excavations of workshops at San Jose Mogote. They are three thousand years old. [David A. Palmer, In Search of Cumorah, p. 133]
Ether 10:23 They did make . . . iron ([Illustration]): An Olmec iron mirror with a concave center. It is of a type worn by the Olmec rulers. This mirror was fashioned by hand, and may have required hundreds of hours of labor. [David A. Palmer, In Search of Cumorah, p. 113]
Ether 10:23 They did make . . . iron (Illustration): Magnetite iron ore mined anciently in the hills around San Jose Mogote. [F.A.R.M.S. Staff, "The Lands Of The Book Of Mormon, Slide #88]