I've pondered if the higher order neurotransmitters, as we'll call them, allowed them to see the cosmic courses and alignments, and possibly even through the cave walls for that phase. Which seems silly in our discursive state of consciousness, but what do we really know when faced with these enigmas.
Rudolf Steiner said that wisdom and knowledge came from the stars, and I believe he meant the structures as they appear from Earth, hence the "anthro"posophy.