The term Indus Valley Tradition is used to refer to the cultures of the Indus and Ghaggar-Hakra rivers, stretching from the Neolithic Mehrgarh period down to the Iron Age orIndo-Gangetic Tradition.

The Indus Valley Tradition is divided into four eras, and each era can be divided into various phases. A phase is an archaeological unit possessing traits sufficiently characteristic to distinguish it from all other units similarly conceived. Each phase can be subdivided into interaction systems.