Uncontacted contemporaries · 1,400 overlapping years

Indus Valley Civilization Elamite Civilization

For 1,400 years — from 2,700 BCE to 1,300 BCE — both civilizations existed simultaneously. Neither this dataset nor the historical record shows any documented trade, war, or diplomatic contact between them.

3,300 BCE 539 BCE

Indus Valley Civilization

3,300 BCE–1,300 BCE

Elamite Civilization

2,700 BCE–539 BCE

↑ Overlap begins, 2,700 BCE

Indus Valley Civilization

Indus River Basin, South Asia

A Bronze Age civilization of remarkably uniform, well-planned cities whose script remains undeciphered today.

Elamite Civilization

Southwestern Iran

A persistent Near Eastern power whose political and cultural identity endured for over two millennia alongside Mesopotamia's empires.

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 Irrigation agriculture Long-distance trade Urban planning

Indus Valley Civilization only

Seafaring

Elamite Civilization only

Iron metallurgy
Standing army