Casas Nuevas de Moctezuma

Casas Nuevas de Moctezuma (English: New Houses of Moctezuma) is the name of a pre-hispanic residential complex composed of five interconnected palaces with large platforms.[1] The complex served as the royal palace and chambers of Tenochtitlan's ninth emperor Moctezuma II,[1] who was the Aztec leader during the arrival of Hernán Cortés.

Casas Nuevas de Moctezuma
Model of Moctezuma's palace, based on an illustration from the Codex Mendoza (1542).
Alternative nameNew Houses of Moctezuma
LocationValley of Mexico
History
Materialstone, basalt[1]
CulturesAztec
Site notes
Excavation dates2008[1]
ArchaeologistsElsa Hernández Pons,[1] Colette Taurillo
Moctezuma's Palace from the Codex Mendoza (1542)

The name casa nuevas ("new houses") was given to distinguish the palaces from anterior Aztec palaces. The stones of these buildings were used for the construction of the National Palace of Mexico.

The site was uncovered in 2008, during a partial renovation of the Museo Nacional de las Culturas, along with a series of excavations led by archaeologist Elsa Hernández Pons. The site is several layers deep because the Spanish colonials built Mexico City on top of the once-majestic Aztec buildings, that the Spanish salvaged.

Moctezuma's Casa Denegrida, or "black house", was among the discoveries found. It was a window-less room that was painted black and served as Moctezuma's meditating place.[2]

References
  1. "Hallan restos de las Casas Nuevas de Moctezuma en DF". Retrieved 8 April 2011.
  2. "Descubren estructuras de Casas Nuevas de Moctezuma". Retrieved 8 April 2011.
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