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Artifact.
Artifact
An artifact or artefact is any object or process resulting from human activity. In a broader sense, it may be defined as anything created by any intelligent being, but at the moment our knowledge of intelligent beings consists of one example -- humanity. (Some ethologists, scientists who study animal behavior, may not agree with this assertion; nor would many UFO enthusiasts).
In an archaeological sense, an artifact is any object discarded or lost by a previous human culture, and later recovered by some archaeological endeavor. Prehistoric artifacts might include stone tools such as projectile points, ceramic sherds, or grinding slabs; historic artifacts include objects made of glass, metal, brick, concrete, mortar, ceramic, and the like.
In observational science and particularly signal processing, an artifact is any perceived distortion, error, or addition caused by the instrument of observation (signal processor). For example, a compression artifact is a noticeable error caused by lossy data compression
of digital audio or video data. A similar usage applies in printing and graphic design, where an artifact is a visible blemish not present in the original image or plate.
In biological microscopy an artifact is any distortion or addition caused by the sample preparation process.
In role-playing games and fantasy literature, an artifact is a magical object with some marvelous and alarming power, so great that it cannot be duplicated by any known art allowed by the premises of the fantasy world, and cannot be destroyed by ordinary means. Artifacts often serve as MacGuffins, the central focus of quests to locate, capture, or destroy them. The One Ring of The Lord of the Rings is a typical artifact: alarmingly powerful, of ancient and obscure origin, and almost indestructible. In the trading card game Magic: The Gathering, an artifact is a type of card representing a magical item.
This article is adapted from from Wikipedia All Wikipedia article text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License
The Evolution of Useful Things: How Everyday Artifacts-From Forks and Pins to Paper Clips and Zippers-Came to be as They are by Henry Petroski
Lewis And Clark On The Trail Of Discovery : An Interactive History with Removable Artifacts by Rod Gragg
Time Streams: Artifacts Cycle Book III by J. Robert King
Bloodlines, Artifacts Cycle Book IV, A Magic: The Gathering Novel by Loren L. Coleman
The Golden Land: The Story of Jewish Immigration to America: An Interactive History With Removable Documents and Artifacts by Rabbi Joseph Telushkin
Investigating Artifacts: Making Masks, Creating Myths, Exploring Middens Teacher's Guide: Grades Kindergarten-6 by Katharine Barrett
Artifacts by Mary Anna Evans
A Guide to Artifacts of Colonial America by Ivor Noel Hume
Dowsing for Beginners: The Art of Discovering: Water, Treasure, Gold, Oil, Artifacts (Llewellyn's Beginners Series) by Richard Webster
Indian Artifacts of the Midwest: Identification & Value Guide by Lar Hothem
Facts, Artifacts, and Counterfacts : Theory and Method for a Reading and Writing Course by David Bartholomae
Arrowheads & Stone Artifacts: A Practical Guide for the Amateur Archaeologist by C. G. Yeager
Offerings at the Wall: Artifacts from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Collection by Thomas B. Allen
Artifact of Evil (Greyhawk Adventures Novels, Book 2) by E. Gary Gygax
North American Indian Artifacts: A Collector's Identification & Value Guide (6th Ed) by Lar Hothem
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