The Oxus civilization, a proto-urban sedentary cultural entity in southern Central Asia (ca. 2300– 1500/1400 BCE), underwent major social transformations around 1800/1750 BCE during the Final Bronze Age before disappearing towards 1500/1400 BCE at the beginning of the Iron Age. The final phase of the Oxus civilization is considered as its decline and viewed as unattractive, indeed scarcely documented and poorly understood. The present study on the end of the Oxus civilization entails establishing a state of knowledge – socio-cultural as well as chronological – of this period. Through the compilation and analysis of old and unpublished archaeological data a broad synthesis could be achieved. This solid and complete basis, moreover, is the source for questions concerning evolutionary processes in the Oxus society. Various transformations of the Oxus civilization, generally considered as disruptions, can thus be characterized more accurately. The “decline” can be seen in a new way. In the course of this study, the possible causes of these mutations are compared with the most recent data in order to examine their validity. Finally, questions are posed concerning the mechanisms of cultural change in the context of the transition between the Bronze Age and the Iron Age in the first half of the 2nd millennium BCE.