An artifact is “anything with traces of human intervention,” says Steven Kuhn, an emeritus professor of anthropology at the University of Arizona. Technically, an artifact could be a hole dug in the ground or the remains of a Stone Age cooking fire, says Kuhn, but the term is usually reserved for “self-contained material objects” made or modified by human hands.
Archaeologists have made some truly stunning discoveries in recent years, finding objects that challenge long-held assumptions about the creativity and capacities of ancient humans. Here are some of the oldest artifacts that have ever been found.