European views on African civilization dramatically changed in the early 20th century.

Evidence

The idea of black African civilization on this level was quite simply unimaginable to a European a hundred years ago. … In 1910, when the German anthropologist Leo Frobenius found the first brass head in a shrine outside the city of Ife, he was so overwhelmed by its technical and aesthetic assurance that he immediately associated it with the greatest art that he knew – the Classical sculptures of ancient Greece. — Neil MacGregor, A History of the World in 100 Objects, 988

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Neil MacGregor, A History of the World in 100 Objects, 988
• XREF: connects to: The Ife brass heads changed European perceptions of African art history. — Neil MacGregor, A History of the World in 100 Objects, 986; Pre-war Western thought deemed African belief illogical idolatry; Colonizers justified African slavery’s persistence as evidence of civilizational backwardness (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Colonial revolts and knowledge of African cultures reshaped French civilizing doctrine. #exemplifies (0.70)
• Colonized peoples’ revolts in Africa intensified France’s interwar racial conservatism #corroborates (0.60)