Amber

Amber is fossilized tree resin (not sap), which has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. It is usually yellow or yellow-brown in color. 

Raw unpolished baltic amber. By Msamber 

Archaeologists have found amulets made of amber dating back as far as 11,000 BC.

The ancient Italic peoples of southern Italy used to work amber. 

Found in either round, irregular lumps, grains, or drops, amber is slightly brittle and emits an agreeable odor when rubbed. 

Extinct and extant species of insects are sometimes found encased in samples of amber. 

When amber is rubbed with cloth, it attracts light objects, such as feathers. The effect, first noticed by the ancient Greek philosopher Thales of Miletus, is due to acquisition of negative electric charge, hence the adaptation of the Greek word for amber, elektron, for electricity.

Amber is used as an ingredient in perfumes, as a healing agent in folk medicine, and as jewellery.

About 90% of the world's amber production comes from the Amber Coast of the Sambia peninsula on the Baltic Sea.

Sources Wikipedia, Hutchinson Encyclopedia © RM 2011. Helicon Publishing is division of RM.