artifact

also n.

1. An object produced or shaped by human craft, especially a tool, weapon, or ornament of archaeological or historical interest.
2. Something viewed as a product of human conception or agency rather than an inherent element: "The very act of looking at a naked model was an artifact of male supremacy" (Philip Weiss).
3. A structure or feature not normally present but visible as a result of an external agent or action, such as one seen in a microscopic specimen after fixation, or in an image produced by radiology or electrocardiography.
4. An inaccurate observation, effect, or result, especially one resulting from the technology used in scientific investigation or from experimental error: The apparent pattern in the data was an artifact of the collection method.

[Latin arte, ablative of ars, art; see art¹ + factum, something made (from neuter past participle of facere, to make).]

artifactual ar'ti·fac'tu·al (-făk'chʊ-əl) adj.

A distortion in an image or sound caused by a limitation or malfunction in the hardware or software. Artifacts may or may not be easily detectable. Under intense inspection, one might find artifacts all the time, but a few pixels out of balance or a few milliseconds of abnormal sound often go undetected.

Analog Artifacts

In films and film-based videotape, artifacts such as blotches, scratches and flicker are commonly found, especially in older movies. Imperfections in the camera lenses and CCDs, and the silver-grain film itself, can generate "noise," which appears as tiny background specks, making the image softer. The electronic recording of analog videotapes can introduce noise as well. See noise.

Digital Artifacts

Artifacts are a natural byproduct of digital compression methods such as JPEG and MPEG, which permanently discard pixels. The greater the compression used, the more artifacts are likely, and fast motion sequences are a major contributor. As TV screens become larger, the distortions are more noticeable. In digital cameras, artifacts may arise when performing digital zoom. When analog material is converted to digital, tiny discrepancies (quantization errors) may result. See blocking artifacts, mosquito noise, feathering and quantization error.

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(är′təfakt)
n

A blemish or image in the radiograph that is not present in the roentgen image of the object.

Ballet in four parts with choreography, scenery, and lighting by Forsythe, music by Eva Crossman-Hecht (pts. 1 and 4), Bach (pt. 2), and Forsythe (pt. 3). Premiered 5 Dec. 1984 at Frankfurt Opera House, by Frankfurt Ballet. Forsythe's third full-length work is essentially a pure dance work for a chorus of 36, two principal couples, and one lead woman, but two actors also move through the work declaiming interrogatory texts on the meaning of action, perception, and memory. At times the choreography deliberately courts chaos, at certain points Forsythe subverts theatrical convention, e.g. by having the curtain rise and fall at seemingly arbitrary points in the performance. The overall effect, however, is of a large jigsaw puzzle of different theatrical elements falling into place. It is danced by Dutch National Ballet and, in a shortened version, by Scottish Ballet.

(artifact) [Ge]

Any object which has been modified, fashioned, or manufactured according to a set of humanly imposed attributes, including tools, weapons, ornaments, utensils, houses, buildings, etc. Artefacts are the basic components of material culture.

In the microscopic preparation of tissues, a structure that is not present in the natural state, but which appears during preparation or examination of the material.

A structure or appearance that is not natural, but is due to manipulation (man-made).

• dermatohistopathological a. — may be due to sampling errors (selection, preparation or technique) or processing of specimens.
• radiological a. — defects in the x-ray film image due to faults in the cassette (screen artifact) or in the film (film artifact).
• static a. — a mark on x-ray film caused by discharge of static electricity.
• ultrasound a. — irregularities produced in the image display. See acoustic shadowing, acoustic enhancement, comet-tail, reverberation.

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - kunstgenstand, stykke kunst

Nederlands (Dutch)
kunstproduct, primitieve kunst, artefact

Français (French)
n. - objet, artefact, objet (fabriqué)

Deutsch (German)
n. - Artefakt, (antiker vom Menschen geformter Gegenstand)

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - τεχνούργημα, (βιολ.) τεχνητό προϊόν

Italiano (Italian)
manufatto

Português (Portuguese)
n. - artefato (m), produto (m) manufaturado, produto (m) artificial

Русский (Russian)
артефакт

Español (Spanish)
n. - artefacto

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - konstprodukt

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
人工制品, 矫作物, 加工品, 艺术品

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 人工製品, 矯作物, 加工品, 藝術品

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 인공물

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 人工品, 人工遺物

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) انتاج اصطناعي, من صنع الإنسان أو انتاج براعته‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮כלי קדום שנוצר ע"י אומן, חפץ שימושי, מכשיר, כלי שבייצורו שולבו אמנות ואומנות, מוצר ביולוגי שהוכן למטרת מחקר‬

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rome artifact