This has been such a wonderful series.
I was talking to one of my daughters yesterday about this. The fact that different and distant cultures have very similar creation stories and mythological characters. She likes writing and is working on some super hero stories. The conversation was ignited by another conversation with an old friend and comic book fan who was telling us about Superman and how the writers had a basic idea that combined a couple of cultural archetypes.
No matter how much has been created during the centuries we have had history and historical records, we always go back to fundamental myths and motifs that constitute the basic elements of humanity's psyche and socio-religious organization.
Even if archaeological findings do not corroborate oral traditions, the question still remains as to where do we get these similar stories from? especially when most of them are not meant to be taken figuratively.