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.[1][2]
Local traditions describe Asantemanso as the place where members of the Aduana clan, accompanied by a leopard, frog, and dog, emerged from the ground on a Monday night (Nkyidwo). They built the first settlement at nearby Essumeja, and the animals symbolically provided essential resources such as fire, water, and food.[3] Some versions place the origins further south in Adanse, with Asantemanso as the location where the Asante coalesced into a distinct political group.[4]
The Asante state emerged in the late 17th century under the leadership of Osei Tutu and the priest Okomfo Anokye. From its foundation around 1700, the Asante kingdom developed a sophisticated political system and engaged in trade and diplomatic contact with European powers on the coast of modern Ghana.[5] The first recorded European reference to Asantemanso came in 1832 from the Dutch envoy Simons, followed by a more detailed account by the British missionary T. B. Freeman in 1841.[6]
Archaeology
Discoveries
Archaeological work began in 1986 as part of the Asante Archaeological Project. Excavations identified a settlement area of approximately 1,300 square metres, with evidence of continuous occupation from at least the 9th–10th centuries CE until the present day.[7] Pottery finds show two main phases: an earlier "earthworks" tradition with elaborate impressed decoration, and a later "Akan ware" style similar to modern ceramics.[8] Radiocarbon dates suggest a peak in occupation between 1200 and 1700 CE, followed by a decline. The settlement's size and material culture indicate an agricultural economy, although specific crops remain uncertain.[9]
Comparative sites
Adansemanso
Adansemanso was a former capital of Adanse, with evidence of iron smelting and domestic architecture, occupied as early as the 9th century, peaking in the 13th to 15th centuries, largely abandoned before the end of the 16th century.[10]
Anyinam
Anyinam was the birthplace of Osei Tutu, which showed European imports such as ceramics, glass bottles, and kaolin tobacco pipes from the early 18th century onwards.[11]
Esiease
Esiease was linked to Osei Tutu's grandfather, with occupation dating from the 16th to 19th centuries.[12]
Legacy
The site remains a major ritual center, containing the "sacred forest" where the origin hole is located. Seven pots in the grove represent the seven abusua (clans) of the Akan. Regular ceremonies involve libation and prayers, and certain chiefs, including the Asantehene and Kokofuhene, are required to cover their eyes when passing by.[13]
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