Meaning & use
artifacts
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“artifacts” is a form of “artifact”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
nouncountable
Objects made by people in the past, such as tools or pottery, that are studied for what they show about history.
Grammar: Plural of artifact: the artifacts are displayed in a museum.
Patterns
- artifacts from somewhere
Archaeologists found artifacts from a settlement three thousand years old.
The museum keeps ancient artifacts in climate-controlled rooms.
Pottery and tools are common artifacts at dig sites.
nouncountabletechnical
Features in data, images or experiments that appear because of the method or equipment used, not because they are real.
Grammar: Often followed by of: artifacts of compression.
Patterns
- artifacts of something
The strange lines in the photo were artifacts of heavy compression.
Researchers worried the pattern was an artifact of the test, not a real effect.
Digital artifacts made the old video look blocky.
Word forms
| singular | artifact |
|---|
Common combinations
- ancient artifacts
- Looters sold ancient artifacts abroad.
- cultural artifacts
- The museum returned cultural artifacts to their homeland.
- dig up artifacts
- Students dug up artifacts near the river.
- historical artifacts
- The shelves hold many historical artifacts.
- digital artifacts
- Compression can create digital artifacts in video.
Synonyms and how they differ
- relics
- Relics suggest survivors from the past with sentimental or religious value, while artifacts are simply human-made objects.
- antiques
- Antiques are old items valued for sale or decoration, and are usually not studied for history.
- remains
- Remains can include bones and buildings, while artifacts are made objects.
- exhibits
- Exhibits are things shown in a display, whether old or new.
Word family
- artifact noun
- a human-made object
- artifactual adjective
- caused by the method, not real
- artificial adjective
- made by people, not natural
- artisan noun
- a skilled craftsperson
Commonly confused: artifacts or artefact? artifacts or artificial?
artifacts vs artefact
Artefact is the British spelling of artifact, with the same meaning.
artifacts vs artificial
Artificial means man-made rather than natural, while an artifact is a specific object.
Practice
The team displayed pottery and tools, all ___ from an ancient village.
Choose one answer.
Artifacts are objects made by people of the past. Articles can mean objects too, but not those recovered by archaeologists in this sense.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “artifacts”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.