Archive vs. Artifact — What's the Difference?

A place where public records or historical documents are kept.

Any object made or modified by humans, generally an ancient tool or piece of art.

The collection of records preserved for their historical value.

Something viewed as a product of human art and workmanship.

To store digital information or documents in a long-term storage solution.

An object remaining from a particular period.

A repository for data stored in a non-active form.

An item that archaeologists recover during excavations.

The act of transferring data to a storage device for preservation.

An item that helps in understanding historical events.

An archive is an accumulation of historical records – in any media – or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organization's lifetime, and are kept to show the function of that person or organization.

Something viewed as a product of human conception or agency rather than an inherent element

Often archives A place or collection containing records, documents, or other materials of historical interest

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

A long-term storage area, often on magnetic tape, for backup copies of files or for files that are no longer in active use.

A phenomenon or feature not originally present or expected and caused by an interfering external agent, action, or process, as an unwanted feature in a microscopic specimen after fixation, in a digitally reproduced image, or in a digital audio recording.

A file containing one or more files in compressed format for more efficient storage and transfer.

An inaccurate observation, effect, or result, especially one resulting from the technology used in scientific investigation or from experimental error

A repository for stored memories or information

An object made or shaped by human hand or labor.

To place or store in an archive.

An object made or shaped by some agent or intelligence, not necessarily of direct human origin.

(Computers) To copy or compress (a file) into an archive.

Something viewed as a product of human agency or conception rather than an inherent element.

A place for storing earlier, and often historical, material. An archive usually contains documents (letters, records, newspapers, etc.) or other types of media kept for historical interest.

A finding or structure in an experiment or investigation that is not a true feature of the object under observation, but is a result of external action, the test arrangement, or an experimental error.

The material so kept, considered as a whole (compare archives).

(archaeology) An object, such as a tool, ornament, or weapon of archaeological or historical interest, especially such an object found at an archaeological excavation.

(ecology) Natural deposits of material, regarded as a record of environmental changes over time.

(biology) An appearance or structure in protoplasm due to death, the method of preparation of specimens, or the use of reagents, and not present during life.

(transitive) To put (something) into an archive.

(computing) A perceptible distortion that appears in an audio or video file or a digital image as a result of applying a lossy compression or other inexact processing algorithm.

The place in which public records or historic documents are kept.

(museology) Any object in the collection of a museum. May be used sensu stricto only for human-made objects, or may include ones that are not human-made.

Public records or documents preserved as evidence of facts; as, the archives of a country or family.

A product of human workmanship; - applied esp. to the simpler products of aboriginal art as distinguished from natural objects.

A depository containing historical records and documents

Any product of human workmanship; - applied both to objects made for practical purposes as well as works of art. It is contrasted to natural object, i.e. anything produced by natural forces without the intervention of man.

Put into an archive

A structure or appearance in protoplasm due to death, method of preparation of specimens, or the use of reagents, and not present during life.

An object, oservation, phenomenon, or result arising from hidden or unexpected causes extraneous to the subject of a study, and therefore spurious and having potential to lead one to an erroneous conclusion, or to invalidate the study. In experimental science, artifacts may arise due to inadvertant contamination of equipment, faulty experimental design or faulty analysis, or unexpected effects of agencies not known to affect the system under study.

A man-made object taken as a whole

An artifact is a physical object made or used by humans, often of historical or cultural interest.

Archives are preserved through controlled environments and, if digital, through regular backups.

Archives typically contain paper-based documents, photographs, and increasingly, digital files.

Artifacts are often placed in museums after being discovered during archaeological digs.

Yes, artifacts can also be more recent items if they are of cultural or historical significance.

An archive is a collection of records preserved for historical or informational purposes.

An archive is specifically for preserving historical documents, whereas a library provides broader access to books and information.

Yes, digital artifacts include software, websites, and digital images that are culturally significant.

Many archives are open to the public, though some may have restrictions on access.

Preserving archives ensures that future generations have access to historical records.

Artifacts provide tangible evidence of past societies and their ways of life.

Archiving information means storing it in a way that ensures its long-term preservation and accessibility.

Examples include tools, jewelry, pottery, and clothing from different historical periods.

Professionals such as archivists and curators manage archives and artifacts, respectively.

Techniques include chemical treatments, controlled environments, and careful physical restoration.