The Indus Civilization (Cambridge History of India, Supplementary Volume) c4.12

c4.12

Now, a generation later, the time has come to attempt the missing chapter. Much that is essential to an understanding of this ancient Indian civilization, both in detail and in general context, still eludes us. We do not know the processes of its early growth and but vaguely understand its evolution and its decay. Certain possibilities as to the circumstances of its end have begun to crystallize under recent reviews of the evidence, but here too conjecture is still preponderant. On the other hand, the first active phase of exploration has now been completed and it is unlikely that large-scale excavation will be resumed in the near future. The pause is an appropriate moment for a synthesis of our present knowledge.