Main content

Illicit Trade, Ep. 01 - Fossils

View on the Pragda STREAM site

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.

Related Films

Niède

At 85 years old, Brazilian archaeologist Niéde Guidon looks back on a…

Stealing Rodin

Traces the story of Luis Onfray as he explains the personal and artistic…

Illicit Trade, Ep. 04 - Meteorites

In Chile, the search and sale of meteorites is unregulated. When the first…