At the imperial capital of Wari, obsidian flakes were likewise found in domestic contexts and have been interpreted as "kitchen waste" as no specialized obsidian production sites were found at the site of Wari (Isbell, et al. 1991: 48; contra ;Stone 1983). In the funerary area of Wari known as the Cheqo Wasi sector the obsidian artifacts include a broken knife, 79 flakes (both utilized and unutilized), and two triangular fragments of obsidian with flat surfaces that may have been polished mirrors (Benavides 1991: 64).
At the Wari site of Pikillacta, in the valley of Cusco, evidence from obsidian flakes found in household compounds suggests that obsidian production took place at the household level. In the Haycuchina and Waska Waskan residential clusters, evidence of craft production consists of "waste flakes" of turquoise-colored stone, obsidian, and broken marine shell all collected from the surface (McEwan 1991: 99). Obsidian flakes were found in middens at Pikillacta along with both utilitarian and elite ceramics.
In Tiwanaku levels at Qillqatani there is a notable decline in the use of obsidian, and of the two specimens analyzed one was of the local low-quality Aconcahua type and the other was Chivay.XFigure 3-7Xreveals that there is a reduction in the percentage of obsidian in the assemblage from this level. In the "debris" category, obsidian falls below 10% for the first time since the Middle Archaic Period. Ceramics were clearly Tiwanaku influenced, but they were relatively poorly made (Aldenderfer in prep.). One may speculate that with the establishment of Tiwanaku colonies in Moquegua, the dominant caravan traffic patterns shifted to an east-west pattern in the Qillqatani area. It is also possible that if the Tiwanaku economic sphere was dominating the circulation of Chivay obsidian, then the material would probably have been conveyed more directly into the Basin and the western cordillera exchange would have been relatively diminished.