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65 Examples of Artifacts

John Spacey, updated on August 27, 2022

An artifact is an item that was intentionally produced by humans. This includes historical artifacts that can be used to examine the past and modern artifacts that capture aspects of modern life such as culture and society. Historical artifacts are physical things such as a book or a work of art. Modern artifacts include intangible things such as a digital message, recording, document or photograph. The following are common examples of an artifact.

Advertising & Packaging	Armor
Arrow Heads	Art
Beads	Boats
Books	Carvings
Ceramics	Clocks & Watches
Clothing	Coffins / Burial Items
Coins	Contracts
Costumes	Crafts
Cutlery	Data
Decorative Items	Documents
Electronic Messages	Electronics
Equipment & Machines	Figurines
Films	Fixtures
Furniture	Games
Hieroglyphs	Jewellery
Keys & Locks	Legal Documents
Letters	Magazines
Maps	Masks
Medals & Badges	Medical Equipment
Movie Props	Musical Instruments
Nautical Instruments	Newspapers
Ornaments	Paintings & Prints
Photographs	Physical Media (e.g. LP records)
Plans	Posters
Pottery & Glassware	Public Records
Recordings	Religious Items
Scientific Instruments	Scrolls & Texts
Sculpture	Sports Equipment
Stamps	Statues
Tiles	Tools
Toys	Uniforms
Weapons	Weather Instruments
Writings

In a business context, an artifact is a document.

Counterexample

An artifact is intentionally produced and doesn't include things left behind by human processes by accident. For example, a footprint or a fire pit in not an artifact. These unintentional remains are known in archeology as features.

Overview: Examples of Artifacts
Type	Artifact
Definition (1)	An item that was intentionally produced by humans.
Definition (2)	An item that was intentionally produced by humans that is relevant to understanding something such as culture, society, history or business.
Also Known As	Artefact (traditional British spelling)
Related Concepts	Artifact »