Artefacts
An artifact or artefact (see also spelling differences) is:
- A human-made object, such as a tool, weapon or ornament, especially those of archaeological or historical interest.
- A human-made object that is a prototype or standard of measurement.
- A structure or feature, visible only as a result of external action or experimental error. Also known as disturbance in biopotential signals.
- Artefact is a fulltext information retrieval system capable of searching through databases containing documents written in a natural language [1]
A cultural artifact is a human-made object which gives information about the culture of its creator and users. The artifact may change over time in what it represents, how it appears and how and why it is used as the culture changes over time. The usage of the term encompasses the type of archaeological artifact which is recovered at archaeological sites; however, man-made objects of modern society are also cultural artifacts. For example, in an anthropological context, a television is an artifact of modern culture.
See also
Social artifact is any product of individuals or groups (social beings) or of their social behavior.
Artifacts are the objects or products designed and used by people to meet re-occurring needs or to solve problems.
An example of a common social artifact is a document.
The philosopher Marx W. Wartofsky distinguished several types of artifacts: - primary artifacts, which are used in production (e.g., a hammer, a fork, a lamp, a camera, etc.) - secondary artifacts, which are representations of primary artifacts (e.g., a user manual for a camera) - tertiary artifacts, which are representations of secondary artifacts
See also
Habib, Laurence, and Line Wittek (2007). The portfolio as artefact and actor. Mind, Culture and Activity, Vol. 14, No. 4, ISSN 1074-9039.
Wartofsky, Marx W. (1973). Models: Representation and scientific understanding. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Reidel.
