This atlas takes us on an exploration of the world, to encounter some of the brilliant and more obscure civilizations that have shaped history. Like stars, civilizations and peoples are born; they live and they die. Sumerians, Spartans, Etruscans, Moche, Aksumites, Mayans, and Mongolian nomads have one thing in common: over the course of several centuries or a few decades, they lived a remarkable way of life, developed elaborate skills, and shone through their artistic achievements, their culture, their medical expertise, or their knowledge of the stars. From the Aztecs with their fatal calendar, to the Rapa Nui with their strange Moai scanning the horizon, or, more recently, the Tasmanians and Herero with their tragic destiny, and the Ona and Alakaluf of Tierra del Fuego, this atlas takes us on a poetic exploration of the world, to encounter some of the brilliant and more obscure civilizations that have shaped history.