Amber and us

People everywhere seem to love amber. Polished amber is smooth and beautiful, and it feels warm next to the skin. No wonder that people have been wearing it as jewelry since the last ice age thousands of years ago!

Since ancient times, people also have carved amber to make ornaments, chessboards, boxes, cups, and figures such as the carp from China shown at right.

Today, amber jewelry is as popular as ever. And people continue to look for amber and for new ways to use it. It's still a thrill to see a piece of the past!

AMBER BITS

Some people make fake amber. One way scientists test for fakes is by putting a hot needle on the object to burn it. If smoke from the burn has a pleasant scent like pine or spice, it's amber. But if the "amber" is fake, it smells like burned plastic or burned fruit.

One ancient Greek myth says that Zeus killed the sun god's son. His mother and sisters were sad and tearful, so Zeus took pity on them and turned them into poplar trees. Their tears, the myth says, became amber.

An amber necklace was found in King Tut's tomb from Egypt--buried more than 3300 years ago!

Amber has been found in Europe, Asia, Africa, and North and South America. But more amber has been found near the Baltic Sea in Europe than in any other place. One mining company took more than a million pounds (543,000 kg) of amber pieces out of the ground in just one year!

Many different ancient people used amber as medicine, hoping to cure everything from sore throats to deadly diseases.

Almost 300 years ago, the Tsar (ruler) of Russia received an amazing gift: a whole room paneled with amber. It took more than 100,000 pieces of amber to make the panels. The panels were taken and hidden by the Nazis during World War II. No one knows for sure where--or if--they still exist.

The largest known piece of amber in the world was found in Malaysia, a country in Asia. It weighed more than 150 pounds (68 kg) and was as big as a bathtub.

Amber traps many small insects. But amber pieces have also been found containing feathers, hairs, bones, lizards, frogs, spiders, spider webs, mushrooms, pine cones, flowers, and parts of many other creatures and plants.

Using microscopes and other tools, scientists have learned many things about the ancient insects inside amber. They've even seen the stuff inside a bee's stomach!

These jewel-like amber pieces are millions of years old. Raw amber looks rough and dull (see the top of the hand-held piece, far left). When amber is polished, light shines through it and makes it glow.

Madeline Rosen is all dressed up in gobs of amber jewelry. People have been wearing amber for 10,000 years!

This chunk of Baltic amber (above) was carved to look like a chameleon. Below, Dr. Francis Hueber, a scientist, shows Madeline part of the Smithsonian Institution's amber collection.