THROUGHOUT CENTRAL AMERICA AND North America one can visit the ruins of mounds and pyramids, and even the remains of accurate celestial observatories. Archaeologists have labeled some these remarkable structures temples. As magnificent as these edifices once were, they appear to have had no connection with Nephi's temples or the Book of Mormon. By drawing this conclusion, I will undoubtedly bring upon myself the disapproval of some students of the Book of Mormon who believe otherwise. For this reason, the first two chapters of this book establish a foundation for why the author believes Nephi's temple was built high in the Andes Mountains. Stone upon stone I will present the latest archaeological and anthropological information available that supports the history of the Book of Mormon having transpired in Peru. In so doing, I trust that the readers can weigh the quality of the evidence against all the proposed models for the Book of Mormon and judge for themselves whether we should look to Peru as being the best candidate for the location of Nephi 's temple.

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One commonly held myth is that Peru could not have been the home of the Nephites because the Incas never had a written language. However, scientific researchers now believe that the Incas and their predecessors in Peru did indeed have written languages. The issue of a written language raises an interesting question. "Just what was required for a civilization to have written their religious history on golden plates?" Four technical elements would have been required for a group of people to have compiled the sacred library we now call the Book of Mormon: 1) golden plates, 2) a Semitic language, 3) a vanished written language, and 4) an historical visit in the land by Jesus Christ.

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A MODEL THAT WORKS

Archaeologists and anthropologists are just beginning to scratch the surface of Peru's history, yet within this limited context compelling evidence abounds that the Book of Mormon, is a true history, and that the model found in this book provides a rational basis for proposing possible candidates for Book of Mormon sites. Are these sites the actual places written of by the ancient prophets? Of course, we cannot be certain at this time. Indeed, if one understands the nature and limited scope of the present body of archaeological findings in South America, one would realize how naive it is to draw definitive conclusions about specific historical features and place-names. For example, this book proposes that the major portion of the Nephite and Lamanite lands of the Book of Mormon are to be found in the southern Andean highlands. The Incas called this area Collasuyu. University of California at Los Angeles archaeologist Charles Stanish writes, "In the last fifteen years, members of the Programa Collasuyu have discovered literally hundreds of new sites. We have begun the slow but immensely satisfying work of documenting, excavating, and theorizing about the entire Titicaca region, not just Pukara and Tiwanaku."