{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,28]],"date-time":"2026-07-28T18:01:13Z","timestamp":1785261673097,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":51,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,28]],"date-time":"2026-07-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785196800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100007586","name":"Aix-Marseille Universit\u00e9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100007586","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    Incised obsidian arrowheads form a rare and geographically restricted artifact class, known exclusively from Neolithic Central Anatolia between the late 8th and 7th millennia BCE. These artifacts, marked by deliberate incisions, have been variously interpreted as symbolic or identity-related. This study presents a comprehensive techno-functional and iconographic analysis of eleven newly identified specimens from Tepecik-\u00c7iftlik (Cappadocia, T\u00fcrkiye), adding to the regional corpus of 43 known examples. The incised arrowheads were found in dwelling sites, a chipped stone workshop, and during surveys.Provenance analysis by macroscopic characterization confirms their production from local Cappadocian obsidian sources (G\u00f6ll\u00fcda\u011f, Nenezi Da\u011f). The incisions are highly variable, and show no correlation with raw material,\n                    <jats:italic>cha\u00eene op\u00e9ratoire<\/jats:italic>\n                    , typology, or use-wear. Incisions were executed both before and after final retouching, suggesting no fixed production stage. Comparative analysis reveals parallels between sites, indicating a possible shared but flexible iconographic repertoire. The rarity of these artifacts, their relation to domestic contexts, and their absence beyond Central Anatolia point to the hypothesis of a shared cultural practice. The analysis of these incised arrowheads, along with the limited archaeological and ethnographic comparisons available, calls for a cautious interpretation. While they have been suggested as personal or collective markers (e.g., hunters\u2019 marks), this hypothesis requires further evidence. The expanded dataset from Tepecik-\u00c7iftlik refines the understanding of this peculiar practice, highlighting its persistence despite broader cultural change.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0354715","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,28]],"date-time":"2026-07-28T17:30:37Z","timestamp":1785259837000},"page":"e0354715","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Intentional incisions on Neolithic Obsidian arrowheads from Central Anatolia: A techno-functional and iconographic approach"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"21","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4037-320X","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Alice","family":"Vinet","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Denis","family":"Guilbeau","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"pone.0354715.ref001","volume-title":"The chipped stone assemblage from Can Hasan III: a study in typology, technology and function","author":"K Ataman","year":"1988"},{"key":"pone.0354715.ref002","first-page":"397","article-title":"S\u0131r\u00e7al\u0131tepe: A New Aceramic Neolithic Site in Volcanic Cappadocia (Central Anatolia).","volume-title":"Tracking the Neolithic in the Near East: Lithic Perspectives on Its Origins, Development and Dispersals: Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on the PPN Chipped and Ground Stone Industries of the Near East, Tokyo, 12th-16th November 2019","author":"S Balc\u0131","year":"2022"},{"key":"pone.0354715.ref003","first-page":"417","article-title":"The Chipped Stone.","volume-title":"\u00c7atalh\u00f6y\u00fck Research Project Substantive Technologies at \u00c7atalh\u00f6y\u00fck","author":"T Carter","year":"2013"},{"key":"pone.0354715.ref004","first-page":"371","article-title":"The chipped stone of \u00c7atalh\u00f6y\u00fck.","volume-title":"The Matter of \u00c7atalh\u00f6y\u00fck: Reports from the 2009-2017 Seasons","author":"S. Doyle","year":"2021"},{"key":"pone.0354715.ref005","first-page":"85","article-title":"Material engagement, resources and new discoveries in central Anatolian neolithic","volume":"6","author":"B Erdo\u011fu","year":"2007","journal-title":"CollAn"},{"key":"pone.0354715.ref006","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"293","DOI":"10.3406\/anata.2008.1264","article-title":"G\u00f6ll\u00fc Da\u011f 2007 Survey","author":"N Balkan-Atl\u0131","year":"2008","journal-title":"Anatolia Antiqua"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0354715.ref007","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"199","DOI":"10.3406\/anata.2000.947","article-title":"L\u2019atelier n\u00e9olithique de K\u00f6m\u00fcrc\u00fc-Kaletepe: fouilles de 1999","volume":"8","author":"N Balkan-Atl\u0131","year":"2000","journal-title":"Anatolia Antiqua"},{"issue":"32","key":"pone.0354715.ref008","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"39","DOI":"10.26650\/anar.32.1702365","article-title":"The chronology of the neolithic settlement at tepecik-\u00e7iftlik, central anatolia (t\u00fcrkiye), based on radiocarbon dating","volume":"0","author":"Y \u00c7akan","year":"2025","journal-title":"Anar"},{"key":"pone.0354715.ref009","first-page":"235","article-title":"The obsidian industry of Pre-Pottery Neolithic levels at Tepecik-\u00c7iftlik, central Anatolia.","volume-title":"Near Eastern lithic technologies on the move: interactions and contexts in neolithic traditions","author":"S. Balc\u0131","year":"2019"},{"key":"pone.0354715.ref010","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.7146\/mog-ms.v5.145407","article-title":"Aasivissuit - the great summer camp. Archaeological, ethnographical and zoo-archaeological studies of a caribou-hunting site in West Greenland","volume":"5","author":"B Gr\u00f8nnow","year":"1983","journal-title":"Meddr Gr\u00f8nland, Man & Soc"},{"key":"pone.0354715.ref011","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1515\/9783112682067","volume-title":"La chasse pr\u00e9historique","author":"K Lindner","year":"1950"},{"key":"pone.0354715.ref012","volume-title":"The Eskimo about Bering Strait","author":"EW Nelson","year":"1971"},{"key":"pone.0354715.ref013","first-page":"89","article-title":"Tepe\u00e7ik-\u00c7iftlik.","volume-title":"Central Turkey","author":"E B\u0131\u00e7ak\u00e7\u0131","year":"2012"},{"key":"pone.0354715.ref014","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"83","DOI":"10.1017\/9781107337640.008","article-title":"A conspectus on the status of Tepecik-\u00c7iftlik excavation (Cappadocia): Intersite and regional outcomes and prospects.","volume-title":"6000 BC: Transformation and change in the Near East and Europe","author":"E. B\u0131\u00e7ak\u00e7\u0131","year":"2022"},{"key":"pone.0354715.ref015","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"75","DOI":"10.1016\/j.quaint.2017.11.042","article-title":"Bone implements from Chalcolithic Tepecik-\u00c7iftlik: Traces of manufacture and wear on two classes of bone objects recovered from the 2013 excavation season","volume":"472","author":"DV Campana","year":"2018","journal-title":"Quat Int"},{"key":"pone.0354715.ref016","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101118","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jaa.2019.101118","article-title":"Handling dead bodies: Investigating the formation process of a collective burial from Neolithic Tepecik-\u00c7iftlik, Central Anatolia (Turkey)","volume":"56","author":"AM B\u00fcy\u00fckkarakaya","year":"2019","journal-title":"J Anthropol Archaeol"},{"key":"pone.0354715.ref017","first-page":"104388","article-title":"Multi-dimensional analyses of the plastered skulls from Neolithic Tepecik-\u00c7iftlik, Central Anatolia (T\u00fcrkiye)","volume":"53","author":"A Metin B\u00fcy\u00fckkarakaya","year":"2024","journal-title":"J Archaeol Sci: Rep"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0354715.ref018","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.4000\/anatoliaantiqua.517","article-title":"A first glimpse of the late neolithic and early chalcolithic in cappadocia through the lithic industry of tepecik-\u00e7iftlik","author":"A Vinet","year":"2018","journal-title":"Anatolia Antiqua"},{"key":"pone.0354715.ref019","first-page":"427","article-title":"Tepecik \u00c7iftlik (Turkey) and the exploitation of Cappadocian obsidian during the 7th millennium: preliminary results.","volume-title":"Tracking the Neolithic in the Near East Lithic Perspectives on Its Origins, Development and Dispersals, The Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on the PPN Chipped and Ground Stone Industries of the Near East, Tokyo, 12th-16th November 2019","author":"D. Guilbeau","year":"2022"},{"key":"pone.0354715.ref020","first-page":"91","article-title":"Obsidian on the Move: From the Sources to the Tool. The Case of Tepe\u00e7ik-\u00c7iftlik (Turkey) around 6000 BC.","author":"A Vinet","year":"2020","journal-title":"Proceedings of the 11th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag"},{"key":"pone.0354715.ref021","first-page":"104378","article-title":"The long blades and their uses: examples of long laminar flakes from Anatolia","volume":"53","author":"A Vinet","year":"2024","journal-title":"J Archaeol Sci: Rep"},{"key":"pone.0354715.ref022","article-title":"Appendix 21.1: A Visual Characterisation of the \u00c7atalh\u00f6y\u00fck Obsidian.","volume-title":"Substantive Technologies at \u00c7atalh\u00f6y\u00fck: Reports from the 2000-08 Seasons","author":"M Mili\u0107","year":"2013"},{"key":"pone.0354715.ref023","first-page":"621","article-title":"Istanbul (IST) Area of the East Mound.","volume-title":"\u00c7atalh\u00f6y\u00fck Excavations: The 2000-2008 Seasons","author":"M \u00d6zba\u015faran","year":"2014"},{"key":"pone.0354715.ref024","volume-title":"Pr\u00e9histoire de la pierre taill\u00e9e. 2 Economie du d\u00e9bitage laminaire: technologie et exp\u00e9rimentation\/ IIIe Table ronde de technologie lithique Meudon-Bellevue, octobre 1982; [organis\u00e9e par l\u2019URA 28]","author":"J Tixier","year":"1984"},{"key":"pone.0354715.ref025","volume-title":"Pr\u00e9histoire de la pierre taill\u00e9e. 1 Terminologie et technologie","author":"J Tixier","year":"1980"},{"key":"pone.0354715.ref026","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.4000\/palethnologie.4137","article-title":"The use-wear studies on the lithic industries","volume":"10","author":"\u00c9 Claud","year":"2019","journal-title":"palethnologie"},{"key":"pone.0354715.ref027","volume-title":"Flint in Focus: Lithic Biographies in the Neolithic and Bronze Age","author":"AL Van Gijn","year":"2010"},{"key":"pone.0354715.ref028","first-page":"135","article-title":"Rethinking the Function of the Early Chalcolithic Points from \u00c7atalh\u00f6y\u00fck-West and Tepecik-\u00c7iftlik (T\u00fcrkiye).","author":"A. Vinet","year":"2024","journal-title":"Strategies of Obsidian Procurement, Knapping and Use in the First Farming Societies: From the Caucasus to the Mediterranean. Wien: Verlag der \u00f6sterreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften"},{"key":"pone.0354715.ref029","first-page":"105047","article-title":"Neolithic obsidian mirrors from Southwest Asia: A reflection on their diffusion and manufacture","volume":"62","author":"A Vinet","year":"2025","journal-title":"J Archaeol Sci: Rep"},{"key":"pone.0354715.ref030","first-page":"411","article-title":"The typological analysis of the As\u0131kl\u0131 arrowheads and problems.","volume-title":"The state of the stone: terminologies, continuities and contexts in Near Eastern lithics","author":"S. Balc\u0131","year":"2011"},{"key":"pone.0354715.ref031","first-page":"365","article-title":"A\u015f\u0131kl\u0131 H\u00f6y\u00fck Obsidian Studies: Production, Use and Diachronic Changes.","volume-title":"The Early Settlement at A\u015f\u0131kl\u0131 H\u00f6y\u00fck: Essays in Honor of Ufuk Esin","author":"N Kayacan","year":"2019"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0354715.ref032","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.3406\/anata.2003.991","article-title":"Chipped stone industry of the neolithic site of Musular (Cappadocia): Preliminary results","volume":"11","author":"N Kayacan","year":"2003","journal-title":"anata"},{"key":"pone.0354715.ref033","first-page":"31","article-title":"K\u00f6\u015fk H\u00f6y\u00fck. A Neolithic Settlement in Ni\u011fde-Bor Plateau.","volume-title":"Central Turkey","author":"A. \u00d6ztan","year":"2012"},{"key":"pone.0354715.ref034","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.30861\/9781407358246","volume-title":"Projectile points, hunting and identity at Neolithic Catalh\u00f6y\u00fck, Turkey","author":"L Dogiama","year":"2023"},{"key":"pone.0354715.ref035","first-page":"163","article-title":"Between Two Worlds: The PPNB-PPNC Transition in the Central Levant as Seen Through Discoveries at Beisamoun.","volume-title":"The Mega Project at Motza (Mo\u1e93a): The Neolithic and Later Occupations up to the 20th Century: New Studies in the Archaeology of Jerusalem and Its Region Supplementary Volume","author":"F Bocquentin","year":"2020"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0354715.ref036","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"249","DOI":"10.1080\/00934690.2020.1717857","article-title":"Transregional Perspectives: Characterizing Obsidian Consumption at Early Chalcolithic Ein el-Jarba (N. Israel)","volume":"45","author":"T Carter","year":"2020","journal-title":"J Field Archaeol"},{"key":"pone.0354715.ref037","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.30861\/9780860549314","volume-title":"L\u2019obsidienne au Proche et Moyen Orient: du volcan \u00e0 l\u2019outil","author":"MC Cauvin","year":"1998"},{"key":"pone.0354715.ref038","first-page":"109","article-title":"Focus on the target. The importance of a transparent fracture terminology for understanding projectile points and projecting modes","volume":"12","author":"J Coppe","year":"2017","journal-title":"J Archaeol Sci: Rep"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0354715.ref039","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"19","DOI":"10.1080\/0108464X.1984.10589910","article-title":"Macro and micro wear traces on lithic projectile points","volume":"3","author":"A Fischer","year":"1984","journal-title":"J Danish Archaeol"},{"key":"pone.0354715.ref040","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"154","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jas.2013.10.027","article-title":"Projectiles and the abuse of the use-wear method in a search for impact","volume":"48","author":"V Rots","year":"2014","journal-title":"J Archaeol Sci"},{"key":"pone.0354715.ref041","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"29","DOI":"10.1007\/978-94-017-7602-8_3","article-title":"Experiments in Fracture Patterns and Impact Velocity with Replica Hunting Weapons from Japan.","author":"K Sano","year":"2016","journal-title":"Multidisciplinary Approaches to the Study of Stone Age Weaponry. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands"},{"key":"pone.0354715.ref042","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"484","DOI":"10.3406\/bspf.1990.9931","article-title":"Fl\u00e8ches de chasse, fl\u00e8ches de guerre, le cas des Danis d\u2019Irian Jaya (Indon\u00e9sie)","volume":"87","author":"AM P\u00e9trequin","year":"1990","journal-title":"Bulletin de la Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 Pr\u00e9historique Fran\u00e7aise"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0354715.ref043","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"253","DOI":"10.2307\/280450","article-title":"Style and social information in Kalahari San projectile points","volume":"48","author":"P Wiessner","year":"1983","journal-title":"Am Antiquity"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0354715.ref044","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"323","DOI":"10.3406\/paleo.1974.1057","article-title":"Interpretations of Prehistoric Technology from Ancient Egyptian and other Sources. Part I: Ancient Egyptian Bows and Arrows and their relevance for African Prehistory","volume":"2","author":"JD Clark","year":"1974","journal-title":"paleo"},{"key":"pone.0354715.ref045","first-page":"29","volume-title":"Roaring Rocks: An Audio-Visual Perspective on Hunter-Gatherer Engravings in Northern Sweden and Scandinavia","author":"J Goldhahn","year":"2002"},{"key":"pone.0354715.ref046","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"51","DOI":"10.1016\/j.quaint.2015.10.060","article-title":"The incised bone points from the Early Aurignacian of Poto\u010dka zijalka (Slovenia), hafting system or ornament?","volume":"403","author":"C J\u00e9quier","year":"2016","journal-title":"Quat Int"},{"key":"pone.0354715.ref047","volume-title":"Ur excavations. II. The royal cemetery: a report on the predynastic and Sargonid graves excavated between 1926 and 1931","author":"L Woolley","year":"1934"},{"key":"pone.0354715.ref048","volume-title":"Tools and weapons illustrated by the Egyptian collection in University college, London, and 2,000 outlines from other sources","author":"WMF Petrie","year":"1917"},{"key":"pone.0354715.ref049","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1600-0471.1998.tb00108.x","article-title":"The chronology and regional context of late prehistoric incised arrowheads in southeastern Arabia","volume":"9","author":"P Magee","year":"1998","journal-title":"Arabian Archaeol Epigr"},{"key":"pone.0354715.ref050","first-page":"35","article-title":"Four new inscribed Phoenician arrowheads","volume":"22","author":"J Elayi","year":"2005","journal-title":"Studi Epigrafici e Linguistici"},{"key":"pone.0354715.ref051","first-page":"16","article-title":"Personal Names on Iron Age I Bronze Arrowheads: Characteristics and Implications","volume":"2","author":"MR Golub","year":"2021","journal-title":"Jerusalem J Archaeol"}],"container-title":["PLOS One"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0354715","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,28]],"date-time":"2026-07-28T17:30:50Z","timestamp":1785259850000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0354715"}},"subtitle":[],"editor":[{"given":"Enza Elena","family":"Spinapolice","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"editor"}]}],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,28]]},"references-count":51,"journal-issue":{"issue":"7","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,28]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0354715","relation":{},"ISSN":["1932-6203"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1932-6203","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,28]]}}}