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Illicit Trade, Ep. 01 - Fossils

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In Germany, the most complete fossil bird in the world was found. It’s six meters wide and was trafficked from Caldera, a town in northern Chile that survived the fishing crisis by selling fossils. Until then, no one knew about this place, where the sea and desert meet; it turned out to be one of the most important paleontological sites in the world.

Series Description

There are no millenary mummies in Switzerland, the vicuñas do not live in New Zealand, and the Alerce does not grow in the United States. How did Chile’s most valuable cultural goods get there? Illicit Trade investigates the incredible theft of fossils, mummies, shipwrecks, meteorites, exotic animals, and endangered trees that have crossed continents to end up in the hands of wealthy collectors, scientific laboratories, and prestigious museums.

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