I’m inclined to believe they meant what they said, when they all called this group/race “giants” - but admittedly the notion that their large stature was simply “in the eye of the beholder” or somehow otherwise a metaphorical statement can’t be ruled out.

My best understanding is that, in the past, society/civilization has risen and fallen. The most coherent explanation for what appears to be a “common cultural ancestor” is exactly that - a group who was forced to spread out in diaspora (ecological disaster/warfare induced migration). Then, because of this disaster and diaspora, these different locations were unable to contact eachother, and thus what started as a common cultural influence gradually changed as different local factors impacted the development of these new civilizations [made up of small numbers of diaspora members and relatively far larger numbers of “primitive” (aka “suited to life after a disaster) locals.]

I’m inclined to believe they meant what they said, when they all called this group/race “giants” - but admittedly the notion that their large stature was simply “in the eye of the beholder” or somehow otherwise a metaphorical statement can’t be ruled out.

My best understanding is that, in the past, society/civilization has risen and fallen. The most coherent explanation for what appears to be a “common cultural ancestor” is exactly that - a group who was forced to spread out in diaspora (ecological disaster/warfare induced migration). Then, because of this disaster and diaspora, these different locations were unable to contact eachother, and thus what started as a common cultural influence gradually changed as different local factors impacted the development of these new civilizations (made up of small numbers of diaspora members and relatively far larger numbers of “primitive” (aka “suited to life after a disaster) locals.