Book excerpt: An atlas is a way of representing, in graphic form, a human landscape - a pattern of human activities in space and time. The Macquarie Atlas of Indigenous Australia opens up a window onto the landscape of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander lives, from 60 000 years ago to the present time.It covers a wide range of aspects of Indigenous life, including: society, culture, economics, politics, the environment, technology, land ownership and use, the visual and performing arts, sport, education, health, and placenames.Each chapter has been compiled by one or more experts in the field, under the general editorship of Bill Arthur and Frances Morphy of the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy and Research at the Australian National University. The core of maps is supplemented by explanatory text, as well as numerous diagrams and illustrations, including Indigenous artworks.