COLLECTIONS TERMS

Artifacts are three-dimensional objects made or used by humans.

Specimens are objects from the natural world such as fossils, rocks, and plant material.

Ephemera refers to those printed items only meant to be used for a short period of time. Tickets, schedules, post cards, menus, catalogs, and posters are great examples of ephemera.

Provenance is the history of ownership related to an object.