Uncontacted contemporaries · 554 overlapping years

Shang Dynasty Elamite Civilization

For 554 years — from 1,600 BCE to 1,046 BCE — both civilizations existed simultaneously. Neither this dataset nor the historical record shows any documented trade, war, or diplomatic contact between them.

2,700 BCE 539 BCE

Shang Dynasty

1,600 BCE–1,046 BCE

Elamite Civilization

2,700 BCE–539 BCE

↑ Overlap begins, 1,600 BCE

Shang Dynasty

Yellow River Valley, East Asia

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

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 Standing army Urban planning

Shang Dynasty only

Astronomical record-keeping

Elamite Civilization only

Iron metallurgy
Long-distance trade