page_title: Artifact (archaeology)
hierarchical_section_title: Artifact (archaeology)
caption_attribution_description: English: Mycenaean stirrup vase, 14th-13th centuries BC, imported to Ugarit. Found in the acropolis of Ras Shamra (ancient Ugarit), tomb 37. Français&#160;: Vase à étrier mycénien, XIVe-XIIIe siècles av. J.-C., importé à Ougarit. Découvert dans l'acropole de Ras Shamra (ancienne cité d'Ougarit), tombe 37, fouilles Schaeffer (1936).
context_page_description: An artifact, or artefact, is something made or given shape by humans, such as a tool or a work of art, especially an object of archaeological interest. In archaeology, the word has become a term of particular nuance and is defined as an object recovered by archaeological endeavor, which may be a cultural artifact having cultural interest. Modern archaeologists take care to distinguish material culture from ethnicity, which is often more complex, as expressed by Carol Kramer in the dictum "pots are not people."
  Artifacts exist in many different forms and can sometimes be confused with ecofacts and features; all three of these can sometimes be found together at archaeological sites. They can also exist in different types of context depending on the processes that have acted on them over time. A wide variety of analyses take place to analyze artifacts and provide information on them. However, the process of analyzing artifacts through scientific archaeology can be hindered by the looting and collecting of artifacts, which sparks ethical debate.
context_section_description: An artifact, or artefact (see American and British English spelling differences), is something made or given shape by humans, such as a tool or a work of art, especially an object of archaeological interest. In archaeology, the word has become a term of particular nuance and is defined as an object recovered by archaeological endeavor, which may be a cultural artifact having cultural interest. Modern archaeologists take care to distinguish material culture from ethnicity, which is often more complex, as expressed by Carol Kramer in the dictum "pots are not people."  
  Artifacts exist in many different forms and can sometimes be confused with ecofacts and features; all three of these can sometimes be found together at archaeological sites. They can also exist in different types of context depending on the processes that have acted on them over time. A wide variety of analyses take place to analyze artifacts and provide information on them. However, the process of analyzing artifacts through scientific archaeology can be hindered by the looting and collecting of artifacts, which sparks ethical debate.
caption: Mycenaean stirrup vase from Ras Shamra (Ugarit) Syria, 1400–1300 BC
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