Professor David Grove of the University of Illinois has commented that there are indeed many points of similarity between the Olmec and Shang cultures, but that this does not mean that the two were in contact. It is the same as the way "a whale looks like a fish, but in fact is a mammal."
美國伊利諾大學教授大衛，葛洛夫曾經評論道，奧爾梅克與商文化確實有許多相似之處，但不表示兩者就有接觸，他舉例「鯨魚看上去像魚，但卻是哺乳動物。」