Archaeology And Folklore

This text explores the complex relationship between folklore and archaeology to demonstrate what they might learn from each other. Folklore can provide archaeologists with information that is not found in archaeological evidence, and archaeology can help to preserve and interpret folklore.

Folklore and archaeology are traditionally seen as taking very different approaches to the significance of ancient and historic monuments and to the interpretation of life in the past. This text explores the complex relationship between the two disciplines to demonstrate what they might learn from each other. The collection includes theoretical discussions and case studies drawn from Western Europe, the Mediterranean and North. They explore the differences between popular traditions relating to historic sites and archaeological interpretations of their history and meaning. They challenge the view that folklore can genuinely preserve historical truths through unspoken long-term continuity, but conclude that folklore is far from useless to archaeologists. Where previously, archaeologists attempted to correlate folklore with archaeological evidence, the contributors here move beyond this to suggest ways in which folklore might enrich archaeological practice and raise new questions for research. This survey could open up possibilities for dialogue between archaeology and folklore studies.