Artefact

any object made by human beings, especially with a view to subsequent use.
a handmade object, as a tool, or the remains of one, as a shard of pottery, characteristic of an earlier time or cultural stage, especially such an object found at an archaeological excavation.
any m-ss-produced, usually inexpensive object reflecting contemporary society or popular culture:
artifacts of the pop rock generation.
a substance or structure not naturally present in the matter being observed but formed by artificial means, as during preparation of a microscope slide.
a spurious observation or result arising from preparatory or investigative procedures.
any feature that is not naturally present but is a product of an extrinsic agent, method, or the like:
statistical artifacts that make the inflation rate seem greater than it is.
historical examples

hence it is extremely difficult to distinguish what is preformed, and what is artefact.
histology of the blood paul ehrlich

noun
something made or given shape by man, such as a tool or a work of art, esp an object of archaeological interest
anything man-made, such as a spurious experimental result
(cytology) a structure seen in tissue after death, fixation, staining, etc, that is not normally present in the living tissue
noun
a variant spelling of artefact
n.

older and alternative spelling of artifact (n.). related: artefactual; artefactually.
n.

1821, artefact, “anything made by human art,” from italian artefatto, from latin arte “by skill” (ablative of ars “art;” see art (n.)) + factum “thing made,” from facere “to make, do” (see fact-tious). the spelling with -i- is by 1884, by influence of the latin stem. archaeological application dates from 1890.

artefact ar·te·fact (är’tə-fākt’)
n.
variant of artifact.

artifact ar·ti·fact or ar·te·fact (är’tə-fākt’)
n.

a structure or substance not normally present but produced by an external agent or action, such as a structure seen in a microscopic specimen after fixation that is not present in the living tissue.

a skin lesion produced or perpetuated by self-inflicted action.

ar’ti·fac·ti’tious (-fāk-tĭsh’əs) or ar’ti·fac’tu·al (-fāk’chu-əl) adj.
artifact also artefact
(är’tə-fākt’)

an object produced or shaped by human craft, especially a tool, weapon, or ornament of archaeological or historical interest.

an artificial product or effect observed in a natural system, especially one introduced by the technology used in scientific investigation or by experimental error.