"The Classic era centers of Quirigua and Copan are the eastern most outposts of early Mayan civilization. The Middle Motagua served as the source of Mesoamerica's most precious material. It was the home of the jade that was so highly valued by ancient peoples.
With the fall, close to 1000 A.D. of Quirigua, Copan and their satellite communities, the lands of the Motagua drainage descend into an ahistorical void. Not until the end of the Hispanic colonial era do these lands receive any."