Very interesting! I came to this web page by googling the phrase "connected thinking" which I found on p. 65 (within Ch. 3 - 'The Lifetimes of Scientific Civilizations and the Genetic Evolution of the Brain', by Alan Penny) of the book "Civilizations beyond Earth: Extraterrestrial Life and Society" [Vakoch & Harrison, ed.s] --

"...
Homo sapiens
150–40 kya
It is only with the coming of Homo sapiens at about 150 kya that tool design develops significantly within a species. However, the extent to which this tool-making technology by itself is proof of connected thinking is unclear. Further, the evidence for connected thinking from other archaeological sources of evidence is less clear than one might think. The earliest evidence for Homo sapiens’ connected thinking is the two small blocks of ochre with inscribed cross-hatched lines found in the Blombos Cave on the southern South Africa coast and dated to 80 kya (Henshilwood et al. 2002). However, it is difficult to see this as clear evidence for connected thinking."

I think the author(s) of this web page would find the book I mention above quite interesting, and so recommend it to you. -- Tom