 They also valued it for its chocolate (cacao).Pottery, and other kinds of artifacts, tell us that there was trade between various cities in the Ulua river valley, and the Maya of Belize and Yucatan because artifacts from these Maya centers have been found in cities in the valley at this time, and in turn, artifacts made in the valley have turned up in Maya cities in Belize and Yucatan.The valley is formed by the Ulúa, Comayagua, and Chamelecón rivers, which provided natural transport routes into the rest of present Honduras as well as Central America.