Editing Quiriguá (section)

==Economy==
The Motagua River flows down from the western [[Guatemalan Highlands|Guatemalan highlands]], and Quiriguá was ideally positioned to control the trade of uncut [[jade]], the majority of which was found in the middle reaches of the Motagua Valley,<ref name="Miller54">Miller 1999, p.54.</ref> as well as controlling the flow of other important commodities up and down the river such as [[Cocoa bean|cacao]], which was produced as a local [[cash crop]].<ref name="Drew240">Drew 1999, p.240.</ref><ref name="Loop2"/> Although cacao was produced for trade, maize remained the primary local crop due to its central role in the [[Maya cuisine|Maya diet]].<ref name="Ash111">Ashmore 2007, p.111.</ref> In addition, maize probably formed an important component in the site's tribute payments to its overlords at Copán, a city that was exhausting its own local resources.<ref name="Ash111"/> Although little jade has been recovered from the site, there is evidence for [[Obsidian use in Mesoamerica|trade in obsidian]] originating from the [[Ixtepeque]] source situated near the upper reaches of the Motagua.<ref name="Loop2"/><ref>Stross ''et al.'' 1983, p.335.</ref>

In the Classic Period, the location of the site would have placed Quiriguá on a crossroads between the trading route from the highlands to the Caribbean coast and the route from Copán to the major cities of the [[Petén Basin]].<ref name="Loop2">Looper 2003, p.2.</ref>