Uncontacted contemporaries · 1,000 overlapping years

Olmec Civilization Vedic Civilization

For 1,000 years — from 1,500 BCE to 500 BCE — both civilizations existed simultaneously. Neither this dataset nor the historical record shows any documented trade, war, or diplomatic contact between them.

1,500 BCE 400 BCE

Olmec Civilization

1,500 BCE–400 BCE

Vedic Civilization

1,500 BCE–500 BCE

↑ Overlap begins, 1,500 BCE

Olmec Civilization

Gulf Coast, Mesoamerica

Considered the 'mother culture' of Mesoamerica, originating traits later inherited by the Maya and Aztec.

Vedic Civilization

Northern Indian subcontinent

A pastoral and agrarian Iron Age culture that transmitted the Vedas orally for centuries before any writing system recorded them.

Traits both developed independently

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

Irrigation agriculture Astronomical record-keeping

Olmec Civilization only

Monumental architecture
Long-distance trade
Urban planning

Vedic Civilization only

Bronze metallurgy
Iron metallurgy
Standing army