In October 2010, Daniel Johnson, principal author of An LDS Guide to Mesoamerica, gave this presentation at the Book of Mormon Archaeological Forum's annual conference. One of his purposes was to show the current strong evidence for the history of metallurgy and metal artifacts in Ancient America, including late Classic Mayan gold plates with hieroglyphic writing. Another was to examine closely the text of the Book of Mormon itself to see what it says about the use of metals, tools, and weapons, rather than what we have imagined for years. Finally, he showed that all of the metals and metal items mentioned are accurate for the time period and setting in the Old World, suggesting that all Nephite metalworking, however long it lasted, can probably be traced back to Nephi, rather than to any known American cultures.

Click here to watch the presentation. Sound is required.

An author from the Nephi Project website has written an article claiming that the presentation is misleading. Click here for Daniel's response.

For more information on An LDS Guide to Mesoamerica and additional studies and presentations Daniel is doing, click here for his blog.