Throughout time

Official story - We were hunter gatherers for millions of years and then in the last 8000 to 12000 years we domesticated animals and started civilizations 

And then in the last 500 years we went from believing that we were the center of the solar system to realizing that the sun is the center of our solar system

From unable to fly to intercepting asteroids in space

But was human progress linear?

Or did we have more advanced societies before 8000 - 12000 years ago that died off and mankind had to rebuild?

Or have we been visited by extra terrestrial forces that gifted us knowledge and abilities not previously present on Earth?