"The hypothesis proposing a steppe origin for the Indo-Iranians is inconsistent with: (1) the pattern of cultural development in the steppe during the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age; (2) the model of dialectal division among Indo-Iranian languages; and (3) the complete absence of steppe materials, not only in Iran and India, but even in regions adjacent to them. Furthermore, it is internally contradictory. Its prolonged acceptance may be explained by the absence of critical scrutiny, much like the scenario realized by the child in Andersen’s fairy tale about the Naked King."