Uncontacted contemporaries · 554 overlapping years

Shang Dynasty Jomon Culture

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.

14,000 BCE 300 BCE

Shang Dynasty

1,600 BCE–1,046 BCE

Jomon Culture

14,000 BCE–300 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.

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.

Shang Dynasty only

Monumental architecture
Bronze metallurgy
Irrigation agriculture
Standing army
Astronomical record-keeping
Urban planning

Jomon Culture only

Long-distance trade
Seafaring