COLUMBIAN AMBER ~ WITH INSECTS ~ 1

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COLUMBIAN INSECT AMBER MEASURING : 3.6 X 2.7 X 1.1 CMS. FANTASTIC BEAUTIFUL AMBER NOW ESTIMATED TO BE BETWEEN 20 - 30 MILLION YEARS OLD ! ... AMBER vs COPAL, and Inclusions Within by Terrence M. Allen, May 3, 2010 Revised November 30, 2010 for clarification, and updates There has been some confusion and contention about whatdefines "fossilized" amber from copal, especially copal from Colombia, South America, and amber and copal fro around the world. Amber and copal are both polymerized tree "sap" resins. "AMBER" is defined as a hard, yellowish to brownish translucent fossil resin (tree sap from extinct flora/trees) that takes a fine polish and is used cheifly in making ornamental objects including beads or jewelry such as earrings, necklaces, pins and brooches, and more. It can sometimes be blue/green (from outside deposits), to near black (from coal mines), to cranberry red (Tibetan), to opaque white (bone). Although the color can be variable depending upon age, chemical and physical components, and the locality or contient where found, amber is recently in the last 15 or so years (since the release of the movie "Jurassic Park" directed by Steven Spielberg in 1993, based on the book "Jurassic Park" by author Michael Crichton in 1990) it has been sought out and valued for having fossil insects and spiders, mosquitoes being the most asked for (see notes at end), leaf or flower parts, and other small organisms, entombed inside these naturally hardened jewels. Termed "inclusions", these organisms permanently encased and preserved in three-dimensions, many of which may now be extinct yet some which can be extant species of animals and plants, have brought amber to a higher level if intrinsic, scientific, and of course, monetary value. "COPAL is the term used for resins obtained from various tropical trees. It can be collected from living trees or from accumulations in the soild beneath the trees, or mined it is is buried. Copals from different sources can have similar physical properties but different chemical properties. They are of the ame approximate hardness as amber, but differ from amber in that they are still wholly or partially soluble in organic solvents. Buried copal is the nearest to amber in durability, and is in many cases virtually indistinguishable from it. Fossial copal from the London blue clay has been called copalite or Highgate resin. The name copal itself probably comes from (Spanish): nehuatl copalli, meaning "resin". The island of Zanzibar (a part of Tanzania) is a major source of buried copal. Copal also comes from China, Borneo, Madagascar, North Island, New Zealand, Brazil, Colombia, and other South American countries. It is used in making varnishes, lacquers, inks, and linoleum." (Source: DK/Smithsonian, Rock and Gem, The Definitive Guide to Rocks, Minerals, Gems, & Fossils, by Ronald Louis Bonewitz, c-2005/2008, page 319. Editions by TMA.) Generally speaking, the age of different amber(s) and similar copal(s) cannot be determined by any direct analysis, but may be estimated by comparative analysis. "Resins are produced by many trees and other plants. Unfortunately, no one can presently date these resins by any definitive tests. Because they have been continuously produced, there are no drastic changes from one geological period to another. We can infer age, if we know the age of a sedimentary deposit in which they are found (this would be a minimum, because older material could have been redeposited)." (Source: Colombian Amber, by Dr. Robert E Woodruff, Emeritus Taxonomist, Florida State Collection of Arthropods, 2007.) It is plausible, but not exact, that buried amber or copal may be approximately dated based on other known indicator or index fossils in the associated sediment where found, but again there is no way of knowing exactly how long the resin in question took to become deposited in a defined layer of sediment. If the resin was geologically re-worked, that is, if it eroded from one dep... read more

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