Much like in Alma 2:12, all references to "cimeters" except in Enos 1:20 mention them in conjunction with the sword. In the Book of Mormon, there is no detailed indication from the text as to how the cimeter was used or what type of wounds it inflicted, except one instance where it says that "their [the Nephite's] swords and their cimeters . . . brought death almost at every stroke" (Alma 43:37), which could imply that the Book of Mormon cimeter was a cutting weapon. According to an article by William Hamblin and Brent Merrill, there are three characteristics that distinguish the scimitar from an ordinary sword: it is sharp only on one side, its blade is curved, and it is used only to cut. Some of the same characteristics that distinguish a [Near Eastern] scimitar from a sword are shared by several different types of Mesoamerican melee weapons. Indeed, the early Spanish conquistadors and colonists correlated some Mesoamerican weapons with the scimitar. Antonio de Solis y Rivadeneyra relates that the Aztecs "had likewise long Swords, which they used with both Hands, as we do our Scimitars." [William J. Hamblin and A. Brent Merrill, "Notes on the Cimiter (Scimitar) in the Book of Mormon," in Warfare in the Book of Mormon, F.A.R.M.S., p. 361]