How do archaeologists prove an artifact real?

Question

My question above says it all :D Any help is loved. I can't seem to find any info.

Answer 1

The only way to know for sure that an artifact is real is to find it in an undisputable context.  That would mean finding it in an unopened feature, such as a storage pit, or the remains of a building.

Answer 2

Appropriate manufacturing technique, appropriate materials for the time and culture, stratigraphy (scientific analysis of layers of the earth), radiocarbon dating, or some combination of the above.

Answer 3

First is context. King Tut's tomb hadn't been open in thousands of years. What was found inside was 'real." You dig a meter down and find things. Very likely they are 'real."

Then is the impact of age. Stone points develop a patina, as does bronze and other metals. While in can be duplicated patina is a good indicator.

Paintings can have their paint analyzed . Paint has changed over the years so finding modern paint chemicals on a "old" painting is a good indication.

Materials can be dated. Organic items (wood, cloth) can be dated using carbon 14. Other materials such as pottery can be dated with other methods.

The crystal skulls, soon to be popular with the new Indiana Jones movie are identified as fakes. They have a style that natches none of the American cultures, appeared suddenly and have tool marks from modern tool carving.

Answer 4

An artifact, in archaeological terms, is any object modified or created by humans.

With the exception of the earliest Oldowan stone tools, it is pretty obvious what is man made and what is naturally occurring.

Answer 5

Any artifact found is a "real artifact" however it's up to the archaeologist to find its cultural origin, at that point they have to use knowledge of similar cultural materials, geographic and stratigraphic provenance, carbon dating, or any means of trying to pin down the answer of where it came from.