It's important to consider that an Archaeology textbook is necessarily
dealing with archaeological objects, and so the focus will be on determining
what is modified by humans and what isn't (it all came out of the
ground).  Archaeologists also need to distinguish between things that can
be moved and features (building foundations, etc.). In the archy collection,
we use the term artifact differently than in ethnology.  Going along with
Matthew's comments regarding using the right terms for the situation, I
wanted to point this out.
Shana


On 7/6/07, Carolyn Colley <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> Good question, Chris
> I do not know if the two terms are necessarily interchangeable, however my
> General Archaeology Textbook(Archaeology:discovering our past by Sharer
> and Ashmore)  defines artifacts as "...portable objects whose form has been
> modified either wholly or partially by human activity ..." then it goes on
> to site examples such as a stone ax or a pottery vessel. At an
> archaeological site everything modified by humans is categorized as an
> artifact. Whether it is a sherd or it is a complete object.
> Anyone else?
> CC
>
>
>
>
> *"Cascio, Chris" <[log in to unmask]>* wrote:
>
> For the "why be clear when you can use jargon" department:
>
> I quite often hear the terms "artifact" and "object" used
> interchangeably. I always thought that they were used in different
> contexts. My understanding is that the term "object" is used for
> "whole" things (ex. a chair, a painting, a teapot) whereas "artifact" is
> used for fragments of things--especially something archaeological (ex. a
> ceramic shard).
>
> Maybe I'm being a bit too particular, but what's the consensus?
>
> Chris
>
> Christopher M. Cascio
> Assistant Site Administrator
> Pottsgrove Manor historic site
> 100 West King Street
> Pottstown, PA 19464-6318
> (610) 326-4014
> [log in to unmask]
> www.historicsites.montcopa.org
>
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