Question

Which central idea is best supported by the details in the excerpt? Europeans believed that the Benin plaques were inferior to European art. The Benin plaques challenged Europeans’ beliefs about West Africa. The Benin plaques were copied by many famous European artists. Europeans traveled to West Africa to purchase more Benin plaques.

Answer 1

• The Benin plaques challenged Europeans’ beliefs about West Africa.

Step-by-step explanation:

This question refers to Benin Plaque: The Oba with Europeans:

Europeans trusted that the Benin plaques probably been motivated by the Europeans or Egyptians. These convictions were demonstrated mistaken when it turned out to be evident that the plaques were altogether West African manifestations.

Answer 2

I suppose the excerpt is the following: Many wild theories were put forward. It was thought that the plaques must have come from ancient Egypt, or perhaps that the people of Benin were one of the lost tribes of Israel. Or the sculptures must have derived from European influence (after all, these were the contemporaries of Michelangelo, Donatello and Cellini). But research quickly established that the Benin plaques were entirely West African creations, made without European influence. The Europeans had to revisit, and to overhaul, their assumptions of easy cultural superiority. In this excerpt the central idea is:
The Benin plaques challenged Europeans’ beliefs about West Africa