Consciousness existed before and after us. Consciousness pervades all, not just humans. Note that *you* injected “human” in this description, the author did not.

We're pointing to the same thing through the filter of their own indigenous/shamanic culture and the spirits local to the land they lived in. I've found the view laid as laid out in Dr Christopher Wallace's book on shaiva tantra to be one of the more concise views pointing to the fundamental nature