human experience that focuses on our small-scale, communal roots suggests that the focus on self-actualization, found in the work of many modern behavioral scientists, may be somewhat limited

it is quite limited

Maslow knew this himself. Maslow's hierarchy of needs does not end with self-actualization

that is how far he had gotten when it was published and popularized and then he continued working on the premise and came up with self-transcendence as the new pinnacle of the hierarchy (presumably this is the pinnacle that can be achieved in a lifetime as Maslow died working on this and never managed to add anything else to the hierarchy)