The trove of bones was first discovered by construction workers, and scientists unearthed the skeletons of more than 40 marine mammals including two seals, an aquatic sloth and an extinct species of sperm whale. The mass strandings that are thought to have killed them span more than 10,000 years.
2011 Chilean and Smithsonian paleontologists study several fossilized whale skeletons at Cerro Ballena, also known as “Whale Hill,” next to the Pan-American Highway in the Atacama region of Chile. The site is well removed from the ocean and about 120 feet above sea level. Adam Metallo/Smithsonian Institution Buy Photo