Ammon and the Mesoamerican Custom of Smiting off Arms

Authors

Bruce E. Yerman

Keywords

Ancient Near East, Arabia, Lehi's Journey, Book of Mormon, Isaiah, Lehi

Abstract

Ammon, a Nephite missionary who chose to serve a Lamanite king as his servant, gained fame by cutting off the arms of the king’s enemies. The practice of smiting off arms of enemies as trophies fits a cultural pattern known among the later Aztecs and Maya in pre-Spanish Mesoamerica.

BYU ScholarsArchive Citation

Yerman, Bruce E. (1999) "Ammon and the Mesoamerican Custom of Smiting off Arms," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies: Vol. 8: No. 1, Article 9.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jbms/vol8/iss1/9