One way to examine the social and symbolic significance of obsidian is to examine the changing use of the material as availability declines with distance from the geological source. To judge from the distant consumption zone, obsidian was used in both mundane contexts and also in ritual or ceremonial contexts. At Tiwanaku, obsidian was found dispersed into the fill of ceremonial mounds (Couture 2003). It is also sometimes found in Titicaca Basin burials as of the Terminal Archaic. As reported by Craig (2005: 570-574, 679-682), at Jiskairumoko and at other sites in the Ilave valley, obsidian has been found in burials dating to 3300 cal BCE and later along with other non-local goods including lapis lazuli (sodalite) beads, gold discs, and gold beads, as well as ritual items like a camelid effigy made from bone. If the associations of obsidian with ritual power were related to its non-local origins, one might expect this pattern to have been weaker in closer proximity to the Chivay source. Items from ritual contexts, such as grave goods from the Colca Valley, and in close proximity to the Chivay obsidian source, may provide data to test this hypothesis.