Nur Ab Sal, I understand that you, like many EU fanatics (no offense) want KOTOR to be completely different from GL's vision. If you think about it, 4,000 years is not "giant" in the grand scheme of things. Not much happened technologically from 4,000 B.C. to 1 A.D.
Also, I know that you want KOTOR to resemble TOTJ, but to most, only the movies and major novels are canon, not graphic novels. If the devs had made KOTOR look like TOTJ, not only would it be unoriginal, it wouldn't attract any casual gamers.
If KOTOR bore no resemblence to the Civil War era, it wouldn't make sense. I actually think the devs did put their own spin on the design and feel of the KOTOR world. It may not of been more ancient, but it was definitely different.