If you say that something is a throwback to a former time, you mean that it is like something that existed a long time ago.
The hall is a throwback to another era with its old prints and stained-glass. [+ to]
throwback in British English
(ˈθrəʊˌbæk)
noun
1.
a.
a person, animal, or plant that has the characteristics of an earlier or more primitive type
b.
a reversion to such an organism
2. informal
an occasion when someone is reminded of a past time
verbthrow back(adverb)
3. (intransitive)
to revert to an earlier or more primitive type
4. (transitive; foll byon)
to force to depend (on)
the crisis threw her back on her faith in God
throwback in American English
(ˈθroʊˌbæk)
noun
1. Rare
the act of throwing back; check, stop, or reversal
2.
reversion to an earlier or more primitive type or condition
3.
an instance or example of this
Examples of 'throwback' in a sentence
throwback
For me he is a real throwback.
The Sun (2016)
The display feels like a throwback to the 1980s.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
They are a real interesting throwback to the 1970s.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
It's a real throwback and these players are hard to replace.
The Sun (2013)
The feeling you get playing this is such a buzz for anyone who enjoyed the originals - a real throwback to childhood.
The Sun (2006)
The murder seemed a throwback to the Cold War.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
If he sometimes seemed like a throwback to a previous era, his record in encouraging new writers and taking a chance with neglected classics spoke for itself.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
What can I wear them with to stop me from feeling like a 1980s throwback?