What would it be like if you lived a thousand years ago? To pass through the Hanging Gardens of Babylon on your way home? Or gaze at the stars from your cave dwelling in Mesa Verde?

On mountaintops, deserts, and the banks of rivers, ancient cities that once thrived have become lost to time. But in their ruins, we can find clues of the past and the extraordinary lives their residents lived. All it takes is a simple question: What was life like before?

Beautiful illustrations, masterfully crafted from layers of cut paper, ask readers to spend a day in the shoes of someone from thousands of years ago.