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Perhaps a wandering mind was good enough for early hunter-gathers and only now do modern humans have specialized roles that require extreme focus? A hunter might benefit from a "wider" sense of awareness, whereas recent studies show that multitasking is counterproductive for mental tasks that require extreme focus.

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I think we might be discussing two different phenomenon. It seems pretty obvious to me that the ability to focus is important. What's not clear is whether the ability to wander is also important (although I suspect it is). The claim of the article is not just that meditators are able to focus better when they try, it's that the natural, default mode for their brain is changed to reduce wandering.

I think this understanding of meditation is somewhat mistaken. The techniques of single-pointed focusing are there to help us learn how to keep our minds still, not to narrow down our field of awareness (although one might do so during a practice session).

In fact, in most Buddhist traditions, the development of stillness (shamatha) goes hand-in-hand with the development of a widening awareness (vipashyana). Modern traditions like the mindfulness movement also seem to incorporate this tandem approach.

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