Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times.
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16 Facts About Amber
2.
Amber is used in jewelry and has been used as a healing agent in folk medicine.
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3.
Amber occurring in coal seams is called resinite, and the term ambrite is applied to that found specifically within New Zealand coal seams.
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4.
Amber used in antiquity, as at Mycenae and in the prehistory of the Mediterranean, comes from deposits in Sicily.
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5.
Amber is produced from a marrow discharged by trees belonging to the pine genus, like gum from the cherry, and resin from the ordinary pine.
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6.
Amber has a long history of use in China, with the first written record from 200 BCE.
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7.
Amber is heterogeneous in composition, but consists of several resinous bodies more or less soluble in alcohol, ether and chloroform, associated with an insoluble bituminous substance.
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8.
Amber is globally distributed, mainly in rocks of Cretaceous age or younger.
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9.
Amber has often been imitated by other resins like copal and kauri gum, as well as by celluloid and even glass.
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10.
Amber is a unique preservational mode, preserving otherwise unfossilizable parts of organisms; as such it is helpful in the reconstruction of ecosystems as well as organisms; the chemical composition of the resin is of limited utility in reconstructing the phylogenetic affinity of the resin producer.
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11.
Amber sometimes contains animals or plant matter that became caught in the resin as it was secreted.
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12.
Amber is conducive to preserving DNA, since it dehydrates and thus stabilizes organisms trapped inside.
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13.
Amber has been used since prehistory in the manufacture of jewelry and ornaments, and in folk medicine.
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14.
Amber ornaments have been found in Mycenaean tombs and elsewhere across Europe.
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15.
Amber has long been used in folk medicine for its purported healing properties.
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16.
Amber necklaces are a traditional European remedy for colic or teething pain with purported analgesic properties of succinic acid, although there is no evidence that this is an effective remedy or delivery method.
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