Tonight on National Geographic a group of scientists were sailing the Black Sea in hopes of find what may have caused a huge flood in the area 4,000 years ago. The actual disaster would have taken a year for the nearby sea to leach into the Black Sea (and make it the largest lake on earth). The shoreline would rise several feet per day and so moving was the only option. except that at the outset it would've been like a tidal wave and killed many people and animals. They(the scientists) went on the premise that those people living nearest to the coast (before the cataclysm) would have left artifacts which would now be submerged. Since there would've been survivors this may be the area the Noah story came from. The survivors moved on and told the tale for generations.
Interestingly, this would coincide with the caucasian mummies found in China (3000 yrs old) in towns along the Silk road. Would they have brought the Flood legend with them and also told it along the way?
Because we know that the Babylonians also had this legend it seems pretty clear where the Bible story came from... a natural disaster which had been reported over generations... then voila... god did it.
What do you think?