Around 1800 BCE, signs of a
gradual decline began to emerge, and by around 1700 BCE, most of the cities
were abandoned. In 1953, Sir Mortimer
Wheeler proposed
that the decline of the Indus Civilization was caused by the invasion of an
Indo-European tribe from Central Asia called the "Aryans". As evidence, he cited a group of 37 skeletons found in
various parts of Mohenjo-Daro, and passages in the Vedas referring to battles
and forts. However, scholars soon started to reject Wheeler's theory, since the
skeletons belonged to a period after the city's abandonment and none were found
near the citadel. Subsequent examinations of the skeletons by Kenneth Kennedy in 1994
showed that the marks on the skulls were caused by erosion, and not violent
aggression. Today, many scholars believe that the collapse of the Indus
Civilization was caused by drought and a decline in trade with Egypt and
Mesopotamia. It has also been suggested that immigration by new peoples,
deforestation, floods, or changes in the course of the river may have
contributed to the collapse of the IVC.
After 1900 BCE - The number of sites in India increases from 218 to 853
Around 1200 BCE - Excavations in the Gangetic plain show that urban settlement began
1800 BCE untill 325 BCE - Late Harappan settlement of Pirak
c1000 untill 900 BCE - Late Harappan or material culture still persisted and partially mixed
with Grey Wav
