ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Periodisation of the Indus Valley civilisation

Okay kiddo, we are going to talk about the Indus Valley Civilization and something called periodization.

The Indus Valley Civilization was a long time ago, when people lived in a place called the Indus Valley in what is now India and Pakistan. They were very advanced and developed many things like fancy tools and buildings.

Periodization is just a way to divide up a long time into smaller, easier-to-understand parts. Like how your school day is divided into different classes, periodization divides history into different time periods.

Now, historians have divided the Indus Valley Civilization into three different periods. The first period is called the Early Harappan period, the second period is called the Mature Harappan period, and the third period is called the Late Harappan period.

The Early Harappan period was when people in the Indus Valley were still figuring things out. They were just starting to build cities, and they were learning how to farm and use tools.

The Mature Harappan period was when the Indus Valley Civilization really started to flourish. They had big cities with fancy buildings and people had jobs like making pottery and jewelry. They also had a system of writing, which helps us understand more about them today.

The Late Harappan period was when things started to decline for the Indus Valley Civilization. They were facing problems like floods and droughts and their cities started to become less fancy.

So, to sum it up, periodization is a way of breaking history into smaller parts, and the Indus Valley Civilization was divided into three different periods: Early Harappan, Mature Harappan, and Late Harappan.