I wasn't aware of the Roman redefinition of property laws, but that would be an interesting transition. I think the model of being a steward of the land conflicts also with the existential revolt against nature, which seems to me implicit in civilization and even in behavioural modernity.

This article is meant to be about the basic meaning of "progress," about getting better in general rather than just advancing relative to an amoral norm. But sure, as I lay out, there's bound to be disagreement about what counts as progress because specific definitions of it would have to pass through the minefield of metaethics.