The origins of amber

Amber, called also as Baltic gold, came into being from a resin draining from cracks of trees. This process ensured the protection of trees, for their trunks and branches and was a blockade against viruses, fungi or pollutants getting through these cracks. The second guess is that creating a resin by trees could have been a reaction to climate change, frequent temperature changes, and unusual volcanic activity.

 

If we are dealing with opaque amber, it means that it has been formed inside the trunk. The degree of transparency depends on the arrangement of gas bubbles in the mass of amber.

 

Nowadays, the pine tree is considered as the mother tree of amber. Due to the rapid development of technology and chemical analysis, pine could not be a life-giving tree for amber. After careful analysis, it was considered that the composition differs from the resin of today’s pine. Its origin is seen in the cedar and araucaria trees of Agathis kind, whose remains have never been discovered.

 

The fresh resin became a trap for insects, which after contact with it, they did not have a chance to get out because of its viscosity. Currently, we have the opportunity to view these specimens in the same form as millions of years ago.

 

In the amber forest, cataclysms often occurred, which caused the fall of many trees. However, the resin on trees remained intact. This means that for some time the hardened resin was placed where it was made.