What is "anatopism"

n. (context rare English) A thing that is out of its proper place; ''the geographic counterpart to'' anachronism.

An anatopism (from the Greek ανα, "against," and τόπος, "place") is something that is out of its proper place. Thus, for example, an outrigger canoe would be an anatopism in ancient Rome.

The concept of anatopism is less widely familiar than that of anachronism, perhaps because much that is anatopistic is also anachronistic. Yet the distinction is a valid one; not all that is anatopistic is necessarily also anachronistic.

Anatopism is not to be confused with "anachorism (n.) foreign to a certain locality; geographically impossible" (Collins English Dictionary).