Personally, I don't like to compare fictional cultures and societies to real ones because when you get to the heart of the matter, beyond many of the general characteristics there are simply too many differences to really bridge that connection. And ultimately what happens is we form those bridges ourselves, adding characteristics into the fictional world based on its societal comparison until they really ARE the same.
I think what a great building exercise in this little study would be to identify some major factors in what really influences a civilization, and from those characteristics, document those influences and build something from that instead of saying, "well these guys are pretty Norwegian, look at the nose!"