Adansemanso
Adansemanso Shown within Ghana | |
| Alternative name | Adanse Manso |
|---|---|
| Location | Adansi South District, Ashanti Region, Ghana |
| Region | Akan forest zone |
| Coordinates | 6°05′28″N 1°24′04″W / 6.091°N 1.401°W |
| Type | Urban settlement |
| Part of | Adansi state |
| History | |
| Builder | Early Akan peoples |
| Material | Earth, clay, iron |
| Founded | 9th century |
| Abandoned | late 16th century |
| Periods | Early Akan period |
| Cultures | Akan |
| Events | Abandonment and migration to Ahinsan and Dompoase |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1991–1995 |
| Archaeologists | Brian C. Vivian, Peter Shinnie, Ama Shinnie |
| Condition | Ruins and mounds |
| Ownership | Government of Ghana |
| Management | Ghana Museums and Monuments Board |
| Considered one of the five original towns of the Akan people; site of early iron smelting and urban development in forest Ghana. | |
Adansemanso or Adansimanso was a historic Akan settlement located in the Adanse area of present-day Ashanti Region, Ghana. It is frequently cited in Akan oral traditions and historical records as one of the early urban centres of the Akan world, alongside towns such as Bono Manso and Begho. The site served as the first political and ritual capital of the Adanse state in the Adanse–Amansie region and is associated with the formation of early Akan states. Archaeological investigations in the 1990s confirmed it was a large, complex town, first occupied as early as the 9th to 10th century CE and reaching its peak in size, architectural development, and complexity between the 13th and 15th centuries CE.