“Nephi had a ‘garden’ … near the highway that led to the ‘chief market’ in the city of Zarahemla. Such ideas have seemed incompatible with what was known about ancient American life. Recent discoveries about Mesoamerican urban settlements, however, have now made these features seem highly reasonable.
“The ‘tower’ might easily refer to pyramidal mounds, some built and used by families and lineage leaders for religious ceremonies, and which were referred to by the Spanish conquerors as ‘towers’” (Sorenson, “Nephi’s Garden and Chief Market,” 236).