Has anyone read The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity, by David Graeber and David Wengrow?

Their argument is simply - people, going back into the archeological record as far as it can be taken, seem to organize themselves into various forms of group dynamics based off of a balance of environmental needs, individual and group choice, and also tradition which spring from the mix. Through history those conditions can and do change, and so new choices and forms are adopted. Sometimes, even changing organizational dynamics depending upon the time of year between small "egalitarian and democratic" bands to large and cohesive proto-states complete with rigid hierarchies. Also, examples of the exact opposite occuring are presented, depending upon the time period and the groups being examined.

They also argue that anyone stating that previous societies were "politically equal" or "egalitarian" or any such "proto" term tend to simply make caricatures off of small sample sizes and/or outdated archeological evidence.

Modern theorizers who tend to make such sweeping statements often seem to use cherry-picked, outdated data in order to support their own modern, current political views in order to advance the narratives for their preferred agendas.