Book of Mormon Evidence: Ancient American Clubs

The Book of Mormon repeatedly mentions “clubs” as one of the weapons used by the Nephites and Lamanites.¹ Though the term “club” isn’t used in the King James Version of the Old Testament, the rod, staff, and a few other weapons could appropriately be translated as a “club.”² Thus, the use of clubs among Lehi’s posterity may derive, a least in part, from the Old World, where the weapon was used since prehistoric times.³

On the other hand, New World civilizations also used clubs or maces as weapons. In pre-Columbian times, clubs were utilized among all the major Mesoamerican civilizations (Olmec, Maya, and Aztec),⁴ as well as in North and South America.⁵ However, because clubs were mostly constructed from perishable materials, their form and function must often be reconstructed from figurines, codices, inscriptions, and colonial accounts. While some Mesoamerican clubs didn’t have any cutting edge, others were inset with sharp flint or obsidian blades. As explained by Ross Hassig:

The Maya less commonly used clubs, some of wood or bone, meant to crush the opponent, while others had single or multiple inset blades. The blades were inserted through holes in the wooden handles, rather than being lashed to the side, and were probably made of flint, which was widely available in the lowlands. These were significantly thicker than obsidian blades, but … thickness was necessary to withstand the shock of use as crushers. However, thick blades added weight, requiring a stout handle and producing a relatively short weapon that relied more on mass than on cutting surfaces for effect. Long clubs were feasible but had to be used with two hands, leaving the soldier unable to hold a shield.⁶

Thus, despite the cutting ability of many bladed clubs, they were still used to inflict blunt force trauma. Their effectiveness was sometimes enhanced by adding spheres or knobs, or by including both knobs and sharp points. Hassig notes:

Clubs of various types were also used in Mesoamerican warfare. Some were made of wood alone, but others (huitzauhqui) had stone blades. Another type of club was the cuauhololli, a simple wooden club with a spherical ball at the end .... Yet another type of club was the macuahuitzoctli, which had a knob of wood protruding from each of its four sides and a pointed tip [like] the medieval ‘morning star’ club. These relatively unspecialized clubs were fairly widespread.⁷

The Use of Clubs in the Book of Mormon

Clubs are mentioned several times in the Book of Mormon. In Zeniff’s first-person account, he listed clubs alongside other military armaments: “And it came to pass that I did arm [the Nephites] with bows, and with arrows, with swords, and with cimeters, and with clubs, and with slings, and with all manner of weapons which we could invent” (Mosiah 9:16). Notice, however, that clubs show up towards the end of the list, close to items that had to be “invented,” presumably due to a lack of proper weapons for all of their soldiers.

Clubs were also used by the plundering Lamanites at Sebus. Yet Ammon was able to incapacitate multiple club-bearing opponents by “smiting their arms with the edge of his sword” (Alma 17:36–37). A similar battle disparity occurred later on when Lamanite prisoners attempted to escape from their Nephite captors. In their desperation, the Lamanites “would fight with stones, and with clubs, or whatsoever thing they could get into their hands.” This caused the Nephites to “guard them, sword in hand, down to the land of Zarahemla.” Notably, the text reports that nearly two thousand Lamanites died during these prison revolts, while no Nephite deaths are mentioned (Alma 57:14–15).

Correspondences with Ancient American Warfare

Together, the textual evidence suggests that clubs were a somewhat inferior or unsophisticated weapon among Lehi’s posterity, which seems true-to-life. As pointed out by Hassig, “the shock advantage of … clubs was offset by their shortness and relatively great weight, which suggests that they may not have been primarily military weapons.” As such, “clubmen probably complemented spearmen and were used for specialty tasks.” On their own , “neither [clubs] nor axes would have fared well against conventionally armed opponents.”⁸

This analysis certainly holds true in the stories of Ammon and the Lamanite prisoners, and it possibly explains why clubs are not mentioned as being more widely used in standard military engagements throughout the Book of Mormon. Without discounting the emphasis on divine providence in some of these narratives, it is notable that combatants with clubs seem to have been significantly disadvantaged when facing opponents with swords. 

For instance, during Ammon’s confrontation with the Lamanite raiders, “every man that lifted his club to smite Ammon, he smote off their arms with his sword” (Alma 17:37). Hassig notes that the “cuauhololli [an Aztec club] is a crusher and is thus effective in the downward blow but notably less so on the upward. Moreover, its lateral blows are probably less effective in absolute terms and impractical in combat.”⁹ 

If the Lamanite clubs were anything like this weapon, then there would have been little room for anything other than crushing—yet very predictable—vertical strikes. Not only would cumbersome clubs make their wielders more vulnerable to Ammon’s sword, William Hamblin and Brent Merrill suggest that the downward swinging motions of these raiders probably helped create the considerable force necessary for dismemberment.¹⁰ It should also be pointed out that, as a royal prince, Ammon probably received ample military training.¹¹

Hassig further proposes that “clubs would have been excellent raiding weapons to be used against unarmed or lightly armed opponents.”¹² This corresponds well with the strategy of the club-wielding Lamanites at Sebus, who relied on strength of numbers while preying on unarmed and unsuspecting victims (Alma 17:34–35).

Clubs vs. Swords

Regarding the Book of Mormon’s authenticity, one area of dispute involves the distinction between clubs and swords. One commentator has argued that Native Americans didn’t have swords, and that bladed weapons such as the macuahuitl only count as a “club.”¹³ This position, however, is unsupportable.  

As mentioned previously, there is some overlapping of terms within the literature on warfare in ancient America, due to the fact that clubs were often inset with flint or obsidian blades. What one scholar might call a “club,” another might refer to as a “sword” or “axe.” The nomenclature can also become mixed, rendering compound words like “sword-clubs” and “club-axes.”¹⁴ Alternatively, the literature sometimes clearly distinguishes between these items, especially when bladed and non-bladed weapons are part of the same discussion. This distinction can be seen in modern academic literature,¹⁵ as well as in early colonial accounts.¹⁶

Thus, while it is understandable that a bladed weapon like the macuahuitl might sometimes get labeled as a “club,” it would be illogical to assert that it could only be called a “club” or that it couldn’t qualify as a “sword.” The important thing is that the distinction between “clubs” and “swords” in the Book of Mormon corresponds well with bladed and non-bladed weapons in ancient America.¹⁷

Conclusion

The Book of Mormon’s description of clubs is supported by evidence spanning across North, Central, and South America, where a variety of clubs were used by indigenous peoples in pre-Columbian times. Some of these club-like weapons could easily qualify as “swords,” due to their being inset with stone blades, while other non-bladed weapons fit the more traditional understanding of a “club.” The latter category most reasonably corresponds to the “clubs” mentioned in the Book of Mormon, since the text repeatedly distinguishes between clubs and swords.

In ancient America, non-bladed clubs are believed to have been inferior military weapons. This is also how they are portrayed in the Book of Mormon, where club-wielding combatants are repeatedly at a disadvantage when facing opponents with swords or other more advanced armaments. Although clubs are not a particularly novel or unexpected weapon in military history, the specific way that they are used in the Book of Mormon adds one more layer of consistency and realism to its depiction of ancient American warfare.¹⁸