That timeline is according to abrahamic religions. Here is a concept of time according to Sanatana Dharma.
*img412.imageshack.us/img412/9885/kalpa.jpg
Following is just to show that these "pagans" were probably onto something(relativity, faster than light, inter-dimensional travel, y/n/m?):
BACK TO THE FUTURE: (A story from the Bhagavatam).
In the satya-yuga of the first mahA-yuga of the present (vaivasvata manvantara) , i.e., around 120 millions of years ago there lived a king of the Solar dynasty by name Kakudmi and his beautiful daughter Revati. Not trusting the astrologers of his time, yet believing in the maxim 'Marriages are made in heaven', Kakudmi took his daughter to the world of Brahma (called Brahma-loka) -- in every satya-yuga such things are possible - in order to ask Brahma himself as to who would be the best marital match for his daughter. Kakudmi had himself somebody in mind. But Lord Brahma was not available immediately since he was watching a dance performance. Kakudmi noted that it was 11-09 hours in Brahma's clock and waited for about 20 minutes (of that world's time!) and then he had the opportunity to ask Brahma his question. 'My dear Kakudmi', replied the Lord, 'From the time you came here your earthly world has passed through 27 mahA-yugas and so none of whom you have in mind or their descendents are alive now. Right now people are enjoying the avatAra of Krishna there. Go back and marry your daughter to BalarAma, the elder brother of Krishna'. Thus it was that Kakudmi and Revati travelled back into the future (from the 1st mahA-yuga to the 28th mahA-yuga). Revati was married to BalarAma. Note that 1000 earthly mahA-yugas make one day of 12 'hours'of Brahma. This means
one mahA-yuga = 43.2 'seconds' for Brahma; and
Brahma's one second =100,000 human years.
Source
Currently we are in the
Kaliyuga. Some characteristics of this age:
In Kali-yuga, wealth alone will be considered the sign of a man’s good birth, proper behavior and fine qualities. And law and justice will be applied only on the basis of one’s power.
Men and women will live together merely because of superficial attraction, and success in business will depend on deceit. Womanliness and manliness will be judged according to one’s expertise in sex, and a man will be known as a brahmana just by his wearing a thread.
A person’s spiritual position will be ascertained merely according to external symbols, and on that same basis people will change from one spiritual order to the next. A person’s propriety will be seriously questioned if he does not earn a good living. And one who is very clever at juggling words will be considered a learned scholar.
A person will be judged unholy if he does not have money, and hypocrisy will be accepted as virtue. Marriage will be arranged simply by verbal agreement, and a person will think he is fit to appear in public if he has merely taken a bath.
As the earth thus becomes crowded with a corrupt population, whoever among any of the social classes shows himself to be the strongest will gain political power.
Source
There are more at the source. I just pasted the smaller paragraphs. You may think a description of the Kaliyuga is not relevant to this discussion. But the relevance is in the questions which you scientist fellows need to ask yourselves.
I don't want an answer. Q's are only for you to think about
Q: If all the processing power in the world today cannot predict the future of the computing world 50 years hence, then how did these pagans predict the nature of the human society "
atleast 5000 years" into the future?
Q: If they were right about the nature of human society, then what else are they right about?