Asantemanso
Asantemanso Shown within Ghana | |
| Alternative name | Asante Manso |
|---|---|
| Location | Amansie South District, Ashanti Region, Ghana |
| Region | Akan forest zone |
| Coordinates | 6°17′24″N 1°39′00″W / 6.290°N 1.650°W |
| Type | Urban settlement |
| Part of | Amansie area |
| History | |
| Builder | Early Akan peoples |
| Material | Earth, clay, iron |
| Founded | 700 BCE 9th century |
| Periods | Early Akan period |
| Cultures | Akan |
| Events | Gradual abandonment and migration toward Kumasi and Bekwai |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1980s–1990s |
| Archaeologists | Brian C. Vivian, Peter Shinnie, Ama Shinnie |
| Condition | Ruins and mounds |
| Ownership | Government of Ghana |
| Management | Ghana Museums and Monuments Board |
| Public access | Limited |
| Considered one of the five original towns of the Akan people; long occupied site showing early iron-working, pottery traditions, and ritual terracotta remains. | |
Asantemanso is a historic settlement and sacred forest in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. It is traditionally regarded as the place of origin for the Aduana and other Akan groups. Archaeological excavations have shown that the site was continuously inhabited since the 9th century CE, with traces of earlier habitation dating as far back as 700 BCE, making it one of the earliest known settlements in the central Ghana's forest zone.