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| | Artifact (archaeology) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
 | | Artifacts are distinguished from features, which are nonportable remains of human activity, such as hearths, roads, or house remains, and from biofacts (also called ecofacts), which are objects of archaeological interest made by other organisms, such as seeds or animal bone. |
 | | These distinctions are often blurred; for instance, a bone removed from an animal carcass is a biofact, but a bone carved into a useful implement is an artifact. |
 | | Similarly there can be debate over early stone objects which may be crude artifacts or which may be naturally occurring phenomena that only appear to have been used by humans. |
| en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Artifact_(archaeology) (356 words) |
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