每日单词diminish（每日单词artifact）

artifact /ˈɑːtɪfækt/

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外刊例句

Archaeologists have spent a lot of time analyzing the flashiest objects recovered at ancient sites. But now they're giving a second look at the waste and finding that it, too, tells tales about a culture. For example, 8,000-year-old poop recently revealed parasitic infections among people who lived in settlements versus their hunter-gatherer counterparts. And now archaeologists have examined another overlooked artifact—small stone flakes, typically thought to be by-products from the production of tools like hand axes and cleavers.

考古学家花了大量时间分析古代遗址中发现的最耀眼物体，但现在他们开始对废弃物品进行重新研究，发现这些物品也讲述了文化的故事。例如，最近，8000年前的粪便揭示出定居者与狩猎采集者之间有寄生虫传染。现在考古学家研究了另一件被忽视的人工制品——小石片，这通常被认为是手工斧和砍刀等工具生产的副产品。

——《科学美国人》

基本释义

artifact：An artifact is an ornament, tool, or other object that is made by a human being, especially one that is historically or culturally interesting.

n. 手工艺品；手工制品

追根溯源

单词artifact里的词根fac来自古法语facere，表示“做，制作”，所以，在英语里包含fac/fact的单词，多与此相关。例如：

factory /ˈfæktri/ n. 工厂，制造厂

manufacture /ˌmænjuˈfæktʃə/ v. 制造，加工facility /fəˈsɪləti/ n. 设施；设备faculty /ˈfæklti/ n. 全体教员

前缀arti表示技巧、手艺，所以，arti fact=用技巧做的东西，手工做的东西→手工制品，人造物