History of Chemistry in Ancient and Medieval India, Incorporating the History of Hindu Chemistry by Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray c14.4

c14.4

After the decline of the Indus Valley Civilization as a result of the inroads of war-like and nomadic tribes from the north-west, there is little evidence of any intellectual and cultural activities in India till the advent of the Aryans, a member of the so-called Indo-European group of peoples, who might be said to represent the last phase of the folk-movement that affected India in that early age. This happened at about 1700 B.C., as the archæological, linguistic and other evidences seem to suggest. The Aryans, to begin with, settled themselves in the North-West India, the region where the Harappan civilization flourished, and then gradually spread themselves towards the east along the banks of the river Ganges.