Amber, One of Nature's Curiosities

The natural world is filled with wonderful and curious creatures and creations. Few, however, have the humble beginnings of a protective resin that can trap, or poison, and kill, predators, but that ends up as an adornment throughout the world.

Fossil resin, known popularly as amber, is just such a phenomenon.

Pretty and golden, amber has been shown, by archeological evidence, to have been one of the first adornments used by prehistoric humans. Today, it is even considered a gemstone.

But what is amber? In short, it is the exudate of pines and other trees in the same family, or resin, which is released in the presence of predatory insects and bugs, as well as bacterium and fungi that might pose a threat to the tree. According to http://www.fossilmuseum.net/ amber is: "mainly carbon and hydrogen atoms that readily form hexagonal rings. Molecular bonding between the rings increases over time (called polymerization), and the sticky resin becomes hard....For all practical purposes, the hardened resin, or amber, is a plastic." The article makes the point that "young" amber is referred to as copal. While "old" copal is amber. However, apparently even scientists cannot agree on what the demarkation line is.

The value of amber comes as a result of the little creatures trapped inside. Primarily insects, there have been tiny little vertebrates occasionally found as well, such as small lizards. There are also discoveries of amber containing the remains of bacteria and fungi, to which resin can act as a poison in defense.



Amber is biodegradable, though long-lived (unlike diamonds which are, as the advertising says, "forever"). The Fossil Museum says "weak covalent bonds and weaker hydrogen bonds are easily broken." Apparently all electromagnetic radiation causes the bonds to break down, but particularly ultraviolet radiation is damaging (so wear those baubles only on shady days, ladies!).

Amber is found throughout the world, but primary areas of production are in the Baltic region (in particular at the largest amber mine in the world, in Kaliningrad, Russia), the Domenican Republic and areas surrounding Mexico and Colombia.












So the next time you fasten on that gorgeous piece of amber, reflect that you are, in fact, wearing a tree's defense mechanism, the tiny little sarcophogus of some prehistoric bug.





Ain't nature cool?