[awesomegoat_com]

More spiritual society is the less stuff it needs to amass.

One of the theories goes that ancient civilizations made progress in non material domains. How else would you explain these thousands years long periods in the history when a table or a spoon looked the same. And nothing visible happened?

[pixl97]

"And nothing visible happened"

Are you just neglecting all the human suffering, pain, and death that was occurring in that nothing visible happening moment? History looks a lot different when you just ignore the parts you don't like.