Amber is fossilized tree resin, which has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since
Neolithic times.
[2] Much valued from antiquity to the present as a
gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects.
[3] Amber is used in
jewelry. It has also been used as a healing agent in folk medicine.
There are five classes of amber, defined on the basis of their chemical constituents. Because it originates as a soft, sticky tree resin, amber sometimes contains animal and plant material as inclusions.
[4] Amber occurring in coal seams is also called
resinite, and the term ambrite is applied to that found specifically within
New Zealand coal seams.
[5]