A HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY OF CAPITALISM

Practitioners of historical archaeology can define the impact of ideol ogy (as in Althusser) and disciplines of the self (as in Foucault), th us contributing to the study of capitalism in local historical situati ons. In describing the origins of modern conditions of exploitation, a rchaeologists can help to educate those exploited. In the Chesapeake r egion, historical archaeology has been used to create a more direct ti e with the present than is usually the case, a tie that may serve to r edistribute the power to interpret the past.