artifact

1a :  a usually simple object (such as a tool or ornament) showing human workmanship or modification as distinguished from a natural object; especially :  an object remaining from a particular period caves containing prehistoric artifactsb :  something characteristic of or resulting from a particular human institution, period, trend, or individual … morality is an artifact of human culture, devised to help us negotiate social relations. — Michael Pollanc :  something or someone arising from or associated with an earlier time especially when regarded as no longer appropriate, relevant, or important … that over-simplified but eloquent quality that keeps Jefferson alive for us while Washington and Adams, his superiors in so many other respects, are artifacts of a quaint and lost world. — Jack Rakove

2a :  a product of artificial character (as in a scientific test) due usually to extraneous (such as human) agencyb :  an electrocardiographic and electroencephalographic wave that arises from sources other than the heart or brainc :  a defect in an image (such as a digital photograph) that appears as a result of the technology and methods used to create and process the image … can produce a very good picture, but there will be some loss of detail and some color artifacts such as adjacent colors bleeding into each other. — Consumer Reports