ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Periodization of pre-Columbian Peru

Okay, so back a long, long time ago, there were people living in a place called Peru. These people had different ways of doing things depending on what time it was. It's kind of like how we might have different activities or events for different seasons, like swimming in the summer and ice skating in the winter.

The people in Peru did something kind of like that, called "periodization". This just means they divided up their history into different periods of time based on what was going on at the time. They did this to help understand how things changed over time and how different groups of people lived.

The first period was called the Preceramic period. This was a really long time ago, before people had learned how to plant crops or keep animals for food. They mostly hunted and gathered their food. They also made things out of stone and bone, like tools and weapons.

Then, the people in Peru figured out how to plant crops and raise animals. This was the beginning of the Ceramic period, which was split into two parts - the Early and Middle Ceramic periods. During this time, people started living in villages and towns, and using clay to make pottery.

Next, there was the Late Ceramic period. This was when the people in Peru started building big structures out of stone, like pyramids and temples. They also made ceramics that were really detailed and colorful.

Finally, there was the Inca period. This was when the Inca Empire ruled over most of Peru. They built more big structures and roads, and had a really organized system of government and religion.

So, periodization is just a way of dividing up history based on different time periods and what was happening at the time. The people in Peru did this to help them understand their own history and culture.