Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - artifact

 noun  Etymology: Latin arte by skill (ablative of art-, ars skill) + factum, neuter of factus, past participle of facere to do — more at arm, do  Date: 1821  1.  a. something created by humans usually for a practical purpose; especially an object remaining from a particular period caves containing prehistoric ~s  b. something characteristic of or resulting from a particular human institution, period, trend, or individual self-consciousness…turns out to be an ~ of our education system — Times Literary Supplement  2. a product of artificial character (as in a scientific test) due usually to extraneous (as human) agency  • ~ual adjective