Question

Albrecht Durer said of the Mesoamerican artwork brought to Charles V's court, "All the days of my life I have seen nothing that rejoiced my heart so much as these things, for I saw amongst them wonderful works of art, and I marvelled at the subtle Ingenia of men in foreign lands." Durer's view was unique in that the European view of Mesoamerican cultures was that they were
A. Advanced
B. Barbaric
C. Nomadic
D. Repressive

Answer 1

The correct answer is B. Barbaric.

This happened in 1520, and the view of Mesoamerican (and generally, non-European) cultures as primitive, barbaric and inferior survived until the 20th century.

Dürer admired those objects as works of art, which are original and different than European art. People around him saw them only as precious metals, ignoring their intrinsic value. They melted down all of those items.