Uncontacted contemporaries · 1,900 overlapping years

Minoan Civilization Jomon Culture

For 1,900 years — from 3,000 BCE to 1,100 BCE — both civilizations existed simultaneously. Neither this dataset nor the historical record shows any documented trade, war, or diplomatic contact between them.

14,000 BCE 300 BCE

Minoan Civilization

3,000 BCE–1,100 BCE

Jomon Culture

14,000 BCE–300 BCE

↑ Overlap begins, 3,000 BCE

Minoan Civilization

Crete, Aegean Sea

A maritime palace civilization on Crete whose undeciphered Linear A script predates Greek writing.

Jomon Culture

Japanese archipelago

A remarkably long-lived hunter-gatherer culture in Japan, notable for producing some of the world's earliest pottery long before agriculture took hold.

Traits both developed independently

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

Long-distance trade Seafaring

Minoan Civilization only

Monumental architecture
Bronze metallurgy
Urban planning

Jomon Culture only

No traits unique to Jomon Culture in this comparison.