Amber

What it is

Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its natural beauty since Neolithic times. It is worked as a gemstone and used in jewelry. It is also used as a healing agent in folk medicine traditions around the world.

Where it comes from

The English word derives from Arabic ʿanbar via Middle Persian and Latin. It originally referred to ambergris from sperm whales. The sense shifted to Baltic fossil resin by the late thirteenth century. Ancient Greeks called it elektron, linking it to the sun. Pliny the Elder recorded trade routes from the Baltic to the Mediterranean known as the Amber Road.

How it is done

Pieces torn from the seafloor are collected by hand or diving. In other regions, mining involves open works or underground galleries. Nodules of blue earth are removed, and opaque crusts are cleaned in revolving barrels with sand and water. Dominican amber uses bell pitting, while Ukrainian deposits face illegal extraction methods.

Tools and materials

Amber is often set in jewelry settings. Historically, it was used for smoking pipes in Vienna factories. It is turned on a lathe and polished with whitening, water, or rotten stone. Pressed amber, or ambroid, is formed by heating fragments and compressing them under hydraulic pressure for cheap jewelry.

What it is for

People use amber for protection and healing in folk medicine. Its warm colors make it a popular gemstone for adornment. The ancient Greeks noted its ability to attract light materials due to static electricity. It serves as a symbol of the sun in mythological contexts.

Who does it

Folk healers incorporate it into remedies. Miners extract it from coastal deposits or inland seams. The practice involves skilled polishing and setting techniques passed down through generations.

Peoples and places

Baltic peoples have long traded amber along established routes. Romans imported it from the southern Baltic shores. Chinese records document its use dating back to two hundred BCE. Modern sources include Myanmar and the Dominican Republic, where local communities engage in mining.

What people believe

Ancient myths linked amber to the tears of poplar trees mourning Phaëton. The Greeks associated it with the beaming sun. Its electrostatic properties were noted in antiquity. Some believed it held the essence of tree sap hardened over millennia.

How scholars and sceptics see it

Scientists classify amber based on chemical constituents and polymerization. Researchers study its formation from copal under heat and pressure. Anthropologists trace historical trade networks like the Amber Road. Geologists analyze its distribution in Cretaceous rocks worldwide.

Compare and confuse

Amber is distinct from ambergris, which comes from whales. It differs from jet, which is a type of coal. Copal is a younger, less fossilized resin. Resinite refers to amber found in coal seams.

Questions people ask about Amber

Good reading and sources

• Encyclopaedia BritannicaArticle
• The Dramatic Impact of Illegal Amber Mining in Ukraine’s Wild WestNational Geographic, Article
• A Fossilized Blood-Engorged Mosquito Is Found For the First Time EverSmithsonian Magazine, Article

• Amber on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data