and the presentation. However I don't totally agree with it. We have learned now that civilization is at least 50,000 years older than we thought, and there is solid scientific evidence to show the sophistication of the ancient world. This is a big and hot topic for historians, most of whom still believe for example the pyramids were made as burial sites (despite the fact that all the tombs are found elsewhere and there has never been a trace of tombs in them)
We are not capable today of constructing anything like the great pyramids, the construction technique is beyond our knowledge. Any scientist, after the massive data of proof, who denies the ancient Egyptians used electricity for light is as stupid as those who argued with Galileo that world was round. There is so much information available, but all you have to do is see the artifacts left from ancient civilizations to see they had art, philosophy, and sensual sophistication to rival ours.
If anything, it is possible the ancients were actually more intelligent than we are. They clearly understood and harvested the natural forces inherent in the earth. Their mathematics were perfect, as was the jewelry. We are not more intelligent than those before us, which represent a tiny slice of time since tools were found in Ethiopia which are 2.5 million years old.
As to whether "individually" has prospered during this time... I'm not sure.