First Results of Archaeological Investigations Conducted at Laloi East, Greater Accra Region, Ghana

Abstract

This paper presents preliminary results from archaeological excavations conducted at Laloi East, a previously unknown prehistoric coastal settlement located in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. The settlers of Laloi East subsisted primarily on animal husbandry, crop cultivation, hunting and fishing and molluscs’ exploitation. It also appears that exchange, involving shellfish for pottery and other products may have been undertaken with neighbouring coastal and inland populations, and was probably central to facilitation of the local economy during the occupation period. The archaeological evidence revealed strong economic and cultural affinities between the settlers of Laloi East and Gao Lagoon, located almost two kilometers west of Laloi East. The research however could not establish if the current Dangme occupants of the area were progenitors of the Laloi East settlers.