117 Surprising Amber Facts That Nobody Would Know Until Now

Amber is a yellow or orange hard substance that comprises fossil resin from ancient trees.

Trees produce resin when it is wounded. Sometimes, the ambers also contain preserved plants and animals from ancient times.

Some ambers also have feathers of dinosaurs and fossil insects preserved in them. Only a cavity has these preserved organisms. Because of the static electricity produced by amber, the word electron gave rise to the word electricity.

Read on for some interesting facts about fake amber flakes and true amber.

Amber Fossils

Some of the most important details about amber fossils are mentioned below.

Fossilized amber comprises sticky tree resin.

Amber is classified into five classes. This classification is based on the chemical constituents of amber.

Amber deposits are available in various colors, like red, white, yellow, orange, white, brown, green, blue, and black. They can be transparent or translucent.

Sometimes, the amber also contains preserved animals and plants. They may be over 10 million years old.

Plants and plant materials like flowers, seeds, leaves, stems, mushrooms, pine needles, and more are preserved in the ambers.

It may include animals like flies, wasps, bees, ants, beetles, moths, termites, butterflies, grasshoppers, scorpions, spiders, centipedes, lizards, small frogs, and others.

The insects might have got trapped in the resin while they landed on the tree trunk and got stuck.

The sap or hardened resin then fell to the ground and got covered in dirt and sand. It hardens and becomes a fossil.

Later, it was discovered by the researchers. They have been found in various places including Baltic countries, Russia, Romania, Burma, Wyoming, United States, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, and others.

The Baltic amber consists of three to eight percent of succinic acid.

Baltic amber is the highest quality of amber available.

Amber is organic, amorphous, and resinous in luster.

Their hardness can range from one to three on the Mohs scale.

They can be brittle and easily be cut or polished.

Fossilized amber has been used in folk medicine and contemporary medicine as it was considered a healing agent.

It's used in jewelry as a gem or polished stone.

Amber is also used as a scent in perfumes.

Amber is used as a decorative item.

Most of the amber deposits are found inside the surface of the earth.

The Baltic region has the largest deposits of amber in the world. Baltic amber is also known as succinate.

Gray amber is also known as ambergris. Sub-fossil amber is called copals.

Pressed amber is formed when it is pressed to eliminate cracks and voids.

Amber or fossilized plant resin is made up of succinic acid, communic acid, cummunol, biformene, and others.

Fossilized resin is heated over 392 degrees F (200 degrees C) to yield oil of amber.

For most amber to form, the resin must not degrade on getting exposed to physical and biological processes. 

Ambers occur in about 300 colors including blue, green, brown, orange, yellow, and many others. Blue amber is the rarest species of amber.

The oldest amber that was ever found is about 320 million years old and belongs to the Upper Carboniferous period.

Amber was also found along the Baltic Sea. In many countries, people burn amber to ward off evil spirits and witches.

Natural amber can be expensive, especially if it has small organisms preserved in it.

The American Museum of Natural History has various collections of amber fossils.

How was amber discovered?

Some interesting facts related to the discovery and history of amber are discussed below.

The earliest mention of amber is in 'The Natural History' that was written by Pliny the Elder in 23 to 79 CE.

Amber was discussed by Theophrastus in the fourth century BCE.

The amber was thrown on the seashore by waves. It was collected and sold by people as fuel.

Amber was also found along the shore of the Baltic Sea during the Middle Ages.

In earlier times, a few regions of Northern Europe are considered to be the richest source of amber. They include Heligoland, Zealand, Bay of Gdansk, Sambia Peninsula, and Curonian Lagoon.

According to Pliny, amber was exported by the Germans to Pannonia, who further exported it to Veneti. Veneti distributed it to others.

Amber has been used in China since 200 BCE.

In North America, amber was first discovered in the 19th century. It was found in New Jersey, near Trenton, near Woodbury, Camden, and Crosswicks Creek.

Baltic amber has the largest deposit of the world's amber.

How old is amber?

Here are some interesting facts related to the age of amber and why it is used in decorative objects:

The oldest known amber is approximately 320 million years old. It's one of the oldest objects to have been ever found. It was discovered in 2009 in an Illinois coal mine.

Most ambers that have been discovered throughout the years are younger than 90 million years.

Some of the animals trapped in the amber belong to the Triassic period. It has helped scientists to discover various ancient species.

Amber first appeared about 323 billion years ago during the Carboniferous period or Pennsylvanian period. Lebanese amber and USA amber were discovered about 145 million years ago.

The oldest fossil to be ever recovered from amber was found in Lebanese amber. The fossil belonged to the Lower Cretaceous period.

Canadian amber and Japanese amber were discovered approximately 100 million years ago. It contains well-preserved insects, spiders, pollen grains, spores, and mites.

These fossils belonged to the Upper Cretaceous period. Canadian amber also includes feathers and fuzz from dinosaurs.

Indian amber belongs to one of the oldest ambers in the group of ambers that was formed in the Paleogene period. Indian amber was first discovered about 50 million years ago.

Baltic amber is the oldest source of amber. It was first found in 3200 BC in Egyptian tombs.

Ukraine amber was found about 65 million years ago. It is rich in succinic acid and has various tones of color.

Dominican amber along with Indonesian and Mexican amber was found about 23 million years ago. Dominican amber is used to make jewelry.

Properties And Uses Of Amber

Some of the properties and facts about amber include:

On the Mohs scale, the hardness of amber is about two or three.

The melting range of amber is 563-743 degrees F (295-395 degrees C). But sometimes it burns rather than melts.

Real amber is brittle and can be broken quite easily if it falls.

It can be shaped by cutting, sawing, drilling, and polishing.

Amber is amorphous which means it does not have a clear or definite shape. It can be in the shape of nodules, rods, or drop-like.

Amber can produce static electricity. Its shape depends on the direction the oleo resin was flowing from.

Amber can be transparent, yellow, honey-colored, red, orange-red, or red-brown in color.

The amber changes its color due to oxidation and becomes more opaque.

The white opaque amber is known as bone amber.

Amber also has microscopic cavities that affect its transparency. In these cavities, many insects and plants are preserved.

Amber is composed of about 78% carbon, 11% oxygen, and 10% hydrogen. Baltic amber has three to eight percent of succinic acid.

The chemical formula of amber is C10H16O.

Amber is used as a gem and used as jewelry. Amber jewelry has been worn since the Stone Age.

Amber is naturally a magnifier. If it is polished enough, it can also be used as a lens.

Amber is used to making beads, rosaries, pipe, and cigarette holders.

Amber ornaments are used to decorate houses.

In the early days, powdered ambers were used as incense. It was believed that burning amber can ward off evil spirits.

It has been used as varnish since 250 BCE.

Amber is believed to have healing and medicinal properties.

Amber may help to detoxify, cure heart problems, arthritis, pain, and others.

It is used as an amber scent in perfumes.