ABOUT AMBER
Burmese amber, also known as burmite comes mainly from the Hukawng Valley, Kachin Province, in northern Myanmar, formerly Burma. It dates back to nearly 100 million years, the early Cenomanian stage of the late Cretaceous period.
During that period angiosperm plants started to replace the gymnosperms. This is one of the most important periods in the evolution of life on earth and the formation of modern flora and fauna.
Flowering plants as the dominant flora then caused the beginning of
evolution of fauna similar to the present days. Burmese amber inclusions represent the world’s most diverse biota during the Cretaceous Period in the Mesozoic Era.
The amber is assumed to be of coniferous origin, with a probable araucarian ( Auracariaceae ) source tree and is particularly rich in plant and animal inclusions. Trapped in amber they look alive and have become a window to the world of the Cretaceous period.
The main amber market in Myanmar is located in Myitkyina from where the amber is shipped into China to Tengchong, Yunnan province. There are many books about amber and the inclusions, however, mainly about Baltic ambers. Books about Burmese amber are rare. There are actually two highly recommended books:
Frozen Dimension – The Fossil Insects and Other Invertebrates in Amber – by Zhang Weiwei
The book is in Chinese and was published in 2017.
Flowers in Amber – by George Poinar
A relatively new book about flowers in amber pubished in 2022 by George Poinar. For flower inclusion lovers this book is a must have.
For additional detailed informations about Burmese amber please check the following links :
Wikipedia - Burmese Amber
Wikiwand - Burmese Amber
Pictures on my site are taken with special magnification equipment to show a better view of the inclusions.
The photo equipment used are a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV and a Canon EOS 5DS R. For a final image around 250 photos are stacked with Helicon Focus, cropped and sharpened with PS Elements. Except brightness no additional colour editing is done.
