Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Between roughly 7,650 and 6,600 BCE, people in Central Anatolia produced rare obsidian arrowheads decorated with strange geometric incisions. More than 50 examples have now been discovered, yet archaeologists still don’t know exactly why these markings were made.
A new study of 11 incised arrowheads from Tepecik-Çiftlik in Cappadocia provides fresh clues. Were the marks the equivalent of a hunter's personal signature? Did they identify an owner, serve a technical purpose, or have some kind of symbolic or social meaning?
In this video, I discuss the archaeological evidence from Tepecik-Çiftlik, Çatalhöyük, Can Hasan III and other Central Anatolian Neolithic sites and see what the new paper concludes about this interesting subject.
#ancienthistory #archaeology #neolithic
✨ IN THIS EPISODE
00:00 New Discovery of Incised Arrowheads
00:54 Where Have These Arrowheads Been Found?
02:46 Tepecik-Çiftlik Archaeological Site
06:11 Looking For A Pattern
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✨ REFERENCES
Vinet A, Guilbeau D (2026) Intentional incisions on Neolithic Obsidian arrowheads from Central Anatolia: A techno-functional and iconographic approach. PLoS One 21(7): e0354715. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0354715
✨ PHOTOGRAPH CREDITS
Google Earth
Locations
CC BY 4.0 DEED creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Figures from the paper by Vinet A, Guilbeau D., as referenced above
Between roughly 7,650 and 6,600 BCE, people in Central Anatolia produced rare obsidian arrowheads decorated with strange geometric incisions. More than 50 examples have now been discovered, yet archaeologists still don’t know exactly why these markings were made.
A new study of 11 incised arrowheads from Tepecik-Çiftlik in Cappadocia provides fresh clues. Were the marks the equivalent of a hunter's personal signature? Did they identify an owner, serve a technical purpose, or have some kind of symbolic or social meaning?
In this video, I discuss the archaeological evidence from Tepecik-Çiftlik, Çatalhöyük, Can Hasan III and other Central Anatolian Neolithic sites and see what the new paper concludes about this interesting subject.
#ancienthistory #archaeology #neolithic
✨ IN THIS EPISODE
00:00 New Discovery of Incised Arrowheads
00:54 Where Have These Arrowheads Been Found?
02:46 Tepecik-Çiftlik Archaeological Site
06:11 Looking For A Pattern
✨ JOIN MY CHANNEL
youtube.com/channel/UC0Hs5t0U6Uf993Tba22YmKA/join
✨ FOLLOW ME ON SOCIALS
BlueSky: @MegalithHunter.bsky.social
✨ REFERENCES
Vinet A, Guilbeau D (2026) Intentional incisions on Neolithic Obsidian arrowheads from Central Anatolia: A techno-functional and iconographic approach. PLoS One 21(7): e0354715. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0354715
✨ PHOTOGRAPH CREDITS
Google Earth
Locations
CC BY 4.0 DEED creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Figures from the paper by Vinet A, Guilbeau D., as referenced above
