By Porter Lang
Honey-orange, sometimes cloudy, sometimes clear. Chiapas amber is fossil resin, and it helps to know what the stuff is before you hold a piece, because the sources do not even agree on how old it is.
What it is
Wikipedia’s article on Mexican amber, also known as Chiapas amber, says it is fossilized tree resin formed in the Early and middle Miocene. It names the source trees as Hymenaea mexicana or Hymenaea allendis. The UNAM science magazine Voices of Mexico, the second source we read, says researchers identified the source as resin from the Hymenaea legume, an ancestor of the guapiñol tree. Both sources agree on the tree family. They give it different ages.
How old, according to whom
Wikipedia says much of it is 23 to 27 million years old, and quotes dated samples from 22.5 million years to 27.3 million years. The UNAM magazine says roughly 22.5 to 26 million years, between the end of the Oligocene and the start of the Miocene.
Where it is found
The magazine says it occurs only in the northern and central highlands of Chiapas, and names Huitiupan-Simojovel, Totolapa, Ostuacán and Mal Paso. Wikipedia names Simojovel as the main area, about 130 km from Tuxtla Gutiérrez, and says it produces 95 percent of the state’s amber. It lists other mining areas as Huitiupán, Totolapa, El Bosque, Pueblo Nuevo Solistahuacán, Pantelhó and San Andrés Duraznal. The two lists overlap in places and differ in others, and we report both.
Colors
The magazine describes natural pieces as yellow, red or gold nodes, and says pieces from Simojovel and from the Dominican Republic are considered to have the finest color internationally. Wikipedia gives white, yellow-orange and deep red, with some green and pink tones. The magazine’s claim about “finest” is a ranking made by the magazine and not a measurement, and we pass it on as such.
A question about insects
Wikipedia lists the inclusions found in Chiapas amber: insects, other arthropods, plant fragments and fungi growing on leaves. It names a scorpion, nine crab specimens and a wasp among published finds. The UNAM magazine takes a different line for shoppers. The first source is describing what has been found and studied. The second is advising a buyer. They do not contradict each other, but they point in different directions.
An older use
The magazine says that in the colonial period amber was mainly made into rosaries. We mention it as history of an object and go no further.
Dates in order
- 27.3 million years ago: the oldest dated sample, according to Wikipedia.
- 22.5 million years ago: the youngest dated sample, according to Wikipedia and the UNAM magazine.
- Colonial period: amber mainly made into rosaries, according to the UNAM magazine.
Side by side
The two sources differ on age (23 to 27, and 22.5 to 26 million years) and on the list of mining areas. They agree that the resin comes from a Hymenaea tree and that it is found in Chiapas.
What kind of sources these are
Wikipedia; and a university science magazine, Voices of Mexico from UNAM, which is a secondary source for a general reader. We read no mining record, museum page or laboratory report, and we give no prices.
Questions a buyer would ask
Is it real resin? The sources we read give no test we can stand behind, so ask the seller what they know. Where was it dug? The sources name regions but a piece does not carry a label. How old is it? The answer depends on which author you read. We name no seller, no mine and no maker, and make no claim about any particular piece.
What we left out
We left out prices, which both the Wikipedia article and the magazine mention in passing. We left out the magazine’s account of ancient ornaments and its remarks on amulets, which belong to other communities’ traditions and not to a buyer’s guide. We left out mining conditions and anything about who works the mines, since we found no source we could weigh.
Quick answers
How old is Chiapas amber? Wikipedia says much of it is 23 to 27 million years old. A UNAM science magazine says about 22.5 to 26 million years. The sources differ.
Where is Chiapas amber mined? According to Wikipedia, mainly the Simojovel region, which it says produces 95 percent of the state’s amber. A UNAM magazine lists other highland areas as well.
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