Yellow amber is a fossil oleoresin, because it comes from the fossilization of resins plants produced millions of years ago by gymnosperms, a group to which conifers belong.
Formation of amber over time
In a simplified way, the resin initially consists ofisoprenea molecule made up of five atoms of carbon. Over geological time, the preserved fractions of this resin will encounter conditions of temperature and pressure which will cause a polymerization isoprene. The resin thus becomessolid amberbefore eventually reaching us.
The resin may have stuck organisms when it drained out of the tree (mosquitoes, spiders, flies, etc.). They are found in the amber once it has formed: these are the inclusions.
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