The community of Cerén locally produced agave fibers, manos, and metates, and pottery vessels, while acquiring imports such as cutting tools made from obsidian and chert, jade from the north (Sierra de las Minas), or fancy pottery from Copán presumably from elite-managed markets outside. Once households owned these commodities, they often participated in horizontal exchanges with other households in the village or places nearby in the case of a surplus. The orientation of the households in the village and the assemblages found in each one helped scholars determine that the building was used for non-ceremonial purposes, rather than ceremonial purposes.