Uncontacted contemporaries · 422 overlapping years

Hittite Empire Shang Dynasty

For 422 years — from 1,600 BCE to 1,178 BCE — both civilizations existed simultaneously. Neither this dataset nor the historical record shows any documented trade, war, or diplomatic contact between them.

1,600 BCE 1,046 BCE

Hittite Empire

1,600 BCE–1,178 BCE

Shang Dynasty

1,600 BCE–1,046 BCE

↑ Overlap begins, 1,600 BCE

Hittite Empire

Anatolia

An Anatolian empire that fought Egypt to a standstill at Kadesh and pioneered early iron production.

Shang Dynasty

Yellow River Valley, East Asia

The earliest Chinese dynasty confirmed by contemporary written and archaeological evidence, known for oracle bone script.

Traits both developed independently

With no documented contact, any shared trait below represents independent development rather than transmission from one to the other.

Monumental architecture Bronze metallurgy Standing army Urban planning

Hittite Empire only

Iron metallurgy
Long-distance trade
Codified law

Shang Dynasty only

Irrigation agriculture
Astronomical record-keeping