The formation of Amber is the preserved and hardened organic resin secreted from prehistoric trees. Amber may trap foreign objects, which are called inclusions. These inclusions may consist of foreign matter such as air bubbles, plant, insect, dust, sand, rain droplets or other small tree dwelling creatures.
Fossil Record
The oldest amber recovered dates back approximately 320 million years to the Upper Carboniferous Period after which its becomes much more abundant during the Cretaceous Period. Amber from the Cretaceous Period dates back to more than 150 million years ago. The Amber found from the Cretaceous Period is distributed worldwide and in greater quantity compared to earlier periods.
In the Middle East amber from the Early Cretaceous Period have been found to contain many ancient insects such as beetles, roaches, spiders, flying insects and grasshoppers. A large percentage of the world’s amber comes from sediment deposits in and on the shores of the Baltic Sea area. Amber can be found in various colors from almost black, brown, reddish to the clear light yellowish color, which is displayed above. Ancient man treasured this “semi-precious stone” which of course as mentioned is actually organic tree resin material, however because of its unique properties and beauty we will not dispute or question this term. We are more interested in Amber’s “Time Capsule” abilities.
Botanical origin
Fossil resins from ancient conifers (pine trees) and angiosperms (flowering plants) where widely distributed around the world during ancient time. During the Mesozoic Era the climate and land formations were very different than today and the world was ideal for growing trees, plants and flowering plants.
