jQuery parent()
map each parent
<!DOCTYPE html> <html> <head> <script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.4.1/jquery.min.js"></script> <script> $(document).ready(function(){ var treeTraversal = $("span").parents().map(function(){ return this.tagName;}/*w w w . j ava 2 s. co m*/ ).get().join(", "); $("span").after("<h2>" + treeTraversal + "<h2>"); }); </script> </head> <body> <div> <p> <span>This is is a span element. My ancestors are: </span> </p> </div> </body> </html>