Those are interesting observations, and there is indeed some overlap between premodern thinking and conservatism (the regressive aspects of social Darwinism), as I explain in my articles on conservatism. But I don't see this article as laying out a developmental model. I just picked two examples of childishness to highlight the irony that late-modern consumers have something in common with prehistoric folks. And I wanted to contrast them both with a meta sort of maturity.
I'm not saying I'm opposed to developmental models, and indeed I've explored some to make sense of history. For instance, I highlight the dynamic between mainstream conventions and the counterculture of outsiders. I try to keep in mind the underlying absurdity of any such development, though, in which case all the stages are bound to have advantages and disadvantages, as opposed to being metaphysically blessed. Indeed, I stress how the existential "winners" are likely to be humbled since their victory makes them social outsiders who are likely to lose out in many conventional ways.
But perhaps you're saying a "spiral dynamic" is implicit in the argument? That might be so, in that there are ups and downs in history. I certainly think the progressive, teleological conception of history is simplistic. Civilization imposes what I call the ancient cold war between intellectuals and the less reflective masses (links below). I have an upcoming article that returns to this theme, too.
