Practitioners of historical archaeology can define the impact of ideology (as in Althusser) and disciplines of the self (as in Foucault), thus contributing to the study of capitalism in local historical situations. In describing the origins of modern conditions of exploitation, archaeologists can help to educate those exploited. In the Chesapeake region, historical archaeology has been used to create a more direct tie with the present than is usually the case, a tie that may serve to redistribute the power to interpret the past.
