The 68k architecture, also known as the Motorola 68000, is a family of microprocessors designed by Motorola in the late 1970s. It features a 16/32-bit architecture, allowing it to handle data in both 16-bit and 32-bit formats. This architecture was widely used in personal computers, workstations, and embedded systems during the 1980s and 1990s. The 68k architecture supports a rich set of addressing modes and has a simple instruction set, making it relatively easy to program. It was the foundation for several popular systems, including the Apple Macintosh and Commodore Amiga, contributing to its legacy in computing history.