Does obsidian rust?

[_CaliforniaKid]

Just wondering, since according to Mosiah 8:11 the Zeniffites found some macahuitls "cankered with rust."

[_Jersey Girl]

macahuitls

What is that? Arrowheads?

[_CaliforniaKid]

What is that? Arrowheads?

Macahuitls are the obsidian-studded clubs that the apologists claim the Book of Mormon is referring to when it talks about "swords".

[_Jersey Girl]

What is that? Arrowheads?

Macahuitls are the obsidian-studded clubs that the apologists claim the Book of Mormon is referring to when it talks about "swords".

Oh. The answer to your OP question is "yes". Mahogany Obsidian contains iron oxide. Iron oxide=rust.

Here's a photo of Mahogany Obsidian:

[_bcspace]

Macahuitls are the obsidian-studded clubs that the apologists claim the Book of Mormon is referring to when it talks about "swords".

Which apologists?

[_CaliforniaKid]

Very interesting, Jersey! I'd be curious to know whether the red color is present when the obsidian is formed, or whether it emerges only over time as the iron inclusions in the glass oxidize. Certainly I don't think this sort of "rust" could ever "canker" an obsidian blade.

I did find this interesting page about obsidian, which says that devitrification (the process by which glass gradually degenerates into crystal) can lead to the formation of quartz crystals on the surface of the glass. This might validly be described as "cankering". But it does not fit a strict definition of "rust", and according to this page devitrification takes about 20 million years.

[_CaliforniaKid]

Which apologists?

Here's one.

Also John Sorenson on p. 262 of American Setting.

[_TAK]

Which apologists?

Here's one.

Also John Sorenson on p. 262 of American Setting.

Thanks Kid.. its always fun watching that Kerry vid.. what a scream !

[_Gazelam]

To see a macahuitls in action go to about 3:20 in the link below. There is an annoying music blurb at the start while you wait for the video to load. Very interesting. The Aztecs were said to be able to behead a conquistadors horse with those things.

Discovery Channel

Per the story of the fellow decapitating a horse with his macahuitl, it's from Bernal Diaz del Castillo in his work The True History of the Conquest of New Spain, and it was during the fights the Spaniards had with the Tlaxcalans (before the Tlaxcalans concluded that these Spaniards might be handy in a fight against their hereditary enemies, the Aztecs). And to be technical, it was a mare, rather than a horse But Diaz was both amazed and saddened by the episode, as the mare was one of the finest mounts that the Spaniards had brought with them (one of only 16 in the first "wave" under Cortez), and the mother of the first colt born on the mainland of the Americas (If I recall correctly).

[_The Dude]

A bloodstained macahuitl might look rusty. Maybe when Joseph Smith read the golden plates and saw a description of a bloodstained macahuitl, he altered the words to depict a rusted sword because that would make more sense to people who would read his translation. Now that scholarly apologists have come along and taught us differently, it would be timely and appropriate to update the Book of Mormon text to meet modern understanding.