Traveling Jack: Tracing Settler Identity through Appalachian Folklore

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Archaeology and Folklore have long had a tense relationship, but in an era of archaeology focusing more and more on the current and descendant communities it is imperative for archaeologists to begin engage folklore traditions in their work. By engaging archaeology and folkloric methods both fields can benefit. In the case of this study, I have used the "Traveling Jack" story, a common folk tale with English, Scottish, Irish, and Appalachian versions that involves a young man using his wits to overcome a series of challenges to achieve various happy endings, to trace Scottish and Irish settlement and reinvention in the Appalachian Mountains of the United States South. By analyzing various "Traveling Jack" tales and comparing motifs across cultures I argue that Scottish and Irish identities are maintained in Appalachian identity through "Traveling Jack" tales.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)   •
• SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 50288