In the sense of: People in ancient times were also people with needs, urges, dreams, hopes etc. You are right. Looking at ancient people and describing them like a different species makes no sense at all.

However believe systems make a huge difference as well. As a child I had problems placing myself into the shoes of my grandfather who was a Nazi, went to the eastern front and had values that differed immensely from what my parents told me was good and right. But we shared at least some common cultural knowledge and social practise. Ancient people can feel foreign because their lived cultural practise, believes etc differ from ours hugely. Not being able to put yourself into the shoes of someone who e.g. lived in a feudal system is normal — you need to be very well informed to be able to imagine how life felt to someone like that, nevertheless is still worth to try of course.