Assessment Questions 11.4

1. What was the prevailing assumption of many European thinkers in the sixteenth century regarding the intelligence and capabilities of people from regions like Africa, Asia, and the Americas?

The prevailing assumption was that most people in the world, specifically those who were not European, were considered backward, primitive, dull, unintelligent, unimaginative, and incapable of collaborating to produce great architectural works.

2. What concept emerged as a result of the European perspective on the intelligence of non-European cultures in the sixteenth century?

The diffusionist school of anthropology and cultural geography emerged, where civilization was believed to have been invented in one place and spread or "diffused" from that location, with Europeans considered as the direct descendants and inheritors of that source of all civilization.

3. How did the diffusionist school interpret evidence of sophistication and complexity in ancient civilizations around the world?

The diffusionist school interpreted evidence of sophistication and complexity in ancient civilizations as inspired by contact with the presumed inventors of civilization, with Europeans seen as the ultimate source, often attributing this source to ancient Egypt.