Are you familiar with the works of Humberto Maturana? He is quite an interesting character and wrote books as a biologist (with a very unusual approach, I would say). If you like to read, I can give you some links.

I cannot give up on majority of humanity myself. I only know a few people. lol. So I don't have access nor can I really objectively say water tight things about "majorities". Though there is something with personal observations which give me hints which seem quite accurate to me. (leaving room for doubts).

The past isn't tangible in the way a bottle of motor oil sitting on a shelf is so I tend to view it as ephemeral and apt to be lost or never having had existed once all links to recall it are lost.

You might find something in his works referring to this statements of yours. I can go with it and think too, that the past is not something linearly landing in the present. Though I would say that human culture survives in one way or another.