The Yantar Special Economic Zone is a Special Economic Zone in Russia that was established in 1996 in the Kaliningrad Oblast of the Russian Federation .
73-419: "Yantar" means amber in Russian . Amber has been collected along the Baltic coasts of present-day Kaliningrad Oblast since ancient times, and though some sites are still worked today the yield is relatively modest. After the dissolution of the former Soviet Union (USSR) in 1992/1993 the Russian Socialist Federal Republic (RSFSR) remained as the largest of the original 15 republics. It comprised nearly 75% of
146-415: A communic acid base, and they also include much succinic acid. Baltic amber yields on dry distillation succinic acid, the proportion varying from about 3% to 8%, and being greatest in the pale opaque or bony varieties. The aromatic and irritating fumes emitted by burning amber are mainly from this acid. Baltic amber is distinguished by its yield of succinic acid , hence the name succinite . Succinite has
219-526: A contract with BMW to become a licensed importer for the German automaker. Later, the company began a partnership with General Motors , starting full-scale assembly on the Chevrolet Lacetti . In September 2012, the company began the production of the commercial vehicle Hyundai HD-78 , with a capacity up to 3.5 tonnes, and in 2013, of the trucks Hyundai HD-170 and HD-120. In March 2013, the company started
292-481: A few of them can be said to have had moderate success, among them the Yantar Special Economic Zone (SEZ). The Yantar SEZ provides a customs-free zone, as well as low-tax provisions with regard to corporate profit tax and corporate property tax. These provisions are, however, spread over several provincial (oblast) and federal statutes. Further, the various acts suffer from poor legal drafting and contain
365-514: A hardness between 2 and 3, which is greater than many other fossil resins. Its specific gravity varies from 1.05 to 1.10. It can be distinguished from other ambers via infrared spectroscopy through a specific carbonyl absorption peak. Infrared spectroscopy can detect the relative age of an amber sample. Succinic acid may not be an original component of amber but rather a degradation product of abietic acid . Class Ib ambers are based on communic acid; however, they lack succinic acid. Class Ic
438-605: A hardness between 2.0 and 2.5 on the Mohs scale , a refractive index of 1.5–1.6, a specific gravity between 1.06 and 1.10, and a melting point of 250–300 °C. Heated above 200 °C (392 °F), amber decomposes, yielding an oil of amber , and leaves a black residue which is known as "amber colophony", or "amber pitch"; when dissolved in oil of turpentine or in linseed oil this forms "amber varnish" or "amber lac". Molecular polymerization, resulting from high pressures and temperatures produced by overlying sediment, transforms
511-558: A large scale in the formation of "ambroid" or "pressed amber". The pieces are carefully heated with exclusion of air and then compressed into a uniform mass by intense hydraulic pressure, the softened amber being forced through holes in a metal plate. The product is extensively used for the production of cheap jewelry and articles for smoking. This pressed amber yields brilliant interference colors in polarized light." Amber has often been imitated by other resins like copal and kauri gum , as well as by celluloid and even glass. Baltic amber
584-490: A later 2013 study was unable to extract DNA from insects trapped in much more recent Holocene copal . In 1938, 12-year-old David Attenborough (brother of Richard who played John Hammond in Jurassic Park ) was given a piece of amber containing prehistoric creatures from his adoptive sister; it would be the focus of his 2004 BBC documentary The Amber Time Machine . Amber has been used since prehistory ( Solutrean ) in
657-508: A near-failure. This was mainly due to a combination of both administrative inefficiency and the federal and oblast governments' unwillingness to make the Yantar SEZ sufficiently attractive with tax incentives. More recent studies (2003), however, indicate a moderate economic upswing. Its main trading partner has been Germany and the bulk of foreign investment in the Yantar SEZ comes from German enterprises. The Yantar projects are based mainly at
730-457: A number of ambiguities. Finally, the customs-free regime of the Yantar SEZ has been challenged by hostile federal law several times. In 2006, yet another restrictive federal law governing the Yantar SEZ was enacted. It limits the lifespan of the Yantar SEZ to 25 years, i.e. up to 2030 (Section 21 of the Act). The prospects of the Yantar SEZ are uncertain: In the early years after its establishment, during
803-417: A single species; and indeed a large number of conifers belonging to different genera are represented in the amber-flora. Amber is a unique preservational mode, preserving otherwise unfossilizable parts of organisms; as such it is helpful in the reconstruction of ecosystems as well as organisms; the chemical composition of the resin, however, is of limited utility in reconstructing the phylogenetic affinity of
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#1733084881656876-429: A third type of resin, which is often found as amber within their veins. The composition of resins is highly variable; each species produces a unique blend of chemicals which can be identified by the use of pyrolysis – gas chromatography – mass spectrometry . The overall chemical and structural composition is used to divide ambers into five classes. There is also a separate classification of amber gemstones, according to
949-442: A very strong reflection, almost white. Only about 100 kg (220 lb) is found per year, which makes it valuable and expensive. Sometimes amber retains the form of drops and stalactites , just as it exuded from the ducts and receptacles of the injured trees. It is thought that, in addition to exuding onto the surface of the tree, amber resin also originally flowed into hollow cavities or cracks within trees, thereby leading to
1022-499: Is Highgate copalite . The oldest amber recovered dates to the late Carboniferous period ( 320 million years ago ). Its chemical composition makes it difficult to match the amber to its producers – it is most similar to the resins produced by flowering plants; however, the first flowering plants appeared in the Early Cretaceous, about 200 million years after the oldest amber known to date, and they were not common until
1095-468: Is a macromolecule formed by free radical polymerization of several precursors in the labdane family, for example, communic acid , communol , and biformene . These labdanes are diterpenes (C 20 H 32 ) and trienes, equipping the organic skeleton with three alkene groups for polymerization . As amber matures over the years, more polymerization takes place as well as isomerization reactions, crosslinking and cyclization . Most amber has
1168-411: Is as yet impossible, since no amber with fossilized mosquitoes has ever yielded preserved blood. Amber is, however, conducive to preserving DNA , since it dehydrates and thus stabilizes organisms trapped inside. One projection in 1999 estimated that DNA trapped in amber could last up to 100 million years, far beyond most estimates of around 1 million years in the most ideal conditions, although
1241-588: Is even an ammonite Puzosia (Bhimaites) and marine gastropods found in Burmese amber . The preservation of prehistoric organisms in amber forms a key plot point in Michael Crichton 's 1990 novel Jurassic Park and the 1993 movie adaptation by Steven Spielberg . In the story, scientists are able to extract the preserved blood of dinosaurs from prehistoric mosquitoes trapped in amber, from which they genetically clone living dinosaurs. Scientifically this
1314-431: Is given by polishing with flannel. When gradually heated in an oil bath, amber "becomes soft and flexible. Two pieces of amber may be united by smearing the surfaces with linseed oil, heating them, and then pressing them together while hot. Cloudy amber may be clarified in an oil bath, as the oil fills the numerous pores that cause the turbidity. Small fragments, formerly thrown away or used only for varnish are now used on
1387-511: Is less dense than water and floats, whereas amber is too dense to float, though less dense than stone. The classical names for amber, Latin electrum and Ancient Greek ἤλεκτρον ( ēlektron ), are connected to a term ἠλέκτωρ ( ēlektōr ) meaning "beaming Sun". According to myth, when Phaëton son of Helios (the Sun) was killed, his mourning sisters became poplar trees, and their tears became elektron , amber. The word elektron gave rise to
1460-446: Is mainly based on enantio -labdatrienonic acids, such as ozic and zanzibaric acids. Its most familiar representative is Dominican amber,. which is mostly transparent and often contains a higher number of fossil inclusions. This has enabled the detailed reconstruction of the ecosystem of a long-vanished tropical forest. Resin from the extinct species Hymenaea protera is the source of Dominican amber and probably of most amber found in
1533-496: Is mined through bell pitting , which is dangerous because of the risk of tunnel collapse. An important source of amber is Kachin State in northern Myanmar , which has been a major source of amber in China for at least 1,800 years. Contemporary mining of this deposit has attracted attention for unsafe working conditions and its role in funding internal conflict in the country . Amber from
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#17330848816561606-564: Is one of the smallest provinces (subject of the federation) of the Russian Federation. It is also the westernmost part of the Russian Federation and has no land border with the federation itself, forming an exclave bordering the Baltic Sea (West), Lithuania (North and East), and Poland (South). It comprises an area of roughly 15,000 square kilometers with a population of about 1 million. Historically, this region had been part of Prussia since
1679-607: Is rare and highly sought after. Yellow amber is a hard fossil resin from evergreen trees, and despite the name it can be translucent, yellow, orange, or brown colored. Known to the Iranians by the Pahlavi compound word kah-ruba (from kah "straw" plus rubay "attract, snatch", referring to its electrical properties ), which entered Arabic as kahraba' or kahraba (which later became the Arabic word for electricity , كهرباء kahrabā ' ), it too
1752-620: Is roughly 125–135 million years old, is considered of high scientific value, providing evidence of some of the oldest sampled ecosystems. In Lebanon, more than 450 outcrops of Lower Cretaceous amber were discovered by Dany Azar, a Lebanese paleontologist and entomologist. Among these outcrops, 20 have yielded biological inclusions comprising the oldest representatives of several recent families of terrestrial arthropods. Even older Jurassic amber has been found recently in Lebanon as well. Many remarkable insects and spiders were recently discovered in
1825-407: Is sometimes colored artificially but also called "true amber". Amber occurs in a range of different colors. As well as the usual yellow-orange-brown that is associated with the color "amber", amber can range from a whitish color through a pale lemon yellow, to brown and almost black. Other uncommon colors include red amber (sometimes known as "cherry amber"), green amber, and even blue amber , which
1898-570: Is that the federation and the subjects of the federation have the power to specify, limit and even re-arrange their competencies through treaties and arrangements ("Negotiated federalism"). The Kaliningrad Oblast concluded such an arrangement with the Russian Federation on January 12, 1996. This included detailed stipulations, among others, for the later Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in the Kaliningrad Region (the Yantar SEZ). The Kaliningrad Region
1971-672: The Hummer H2 . In July 2005, the Cadillac CTS , SRX and STS joined them. On 21 November 2008, production of the Chevrolet Lacetti began in full cycle, including welding and painting. This investment in the organization of the production on the part of GM in Avtotor amounted to 80 million euros. The other models produced at the Kaliningrad plant included the Cadillac Escalade ,
2044-698: The Kia Optima . In June 2005, Avtovar collaborated with NAVECO, part of the Nanjing Automobile Corporation , to produce Avtotor-Trucks starting with the Yuejin line up, a broad range of low-bed delivery trucks with a payload of 0.8 tonnes to 24 tonnes. Production of BMW vehicles began in August 1999 with the BMW 5 Series (E39) and 7 Series . In the first year, Avtotor produced 555 cars. In March 2001,
2117-837: The Late Cretaceous . Amber becomes abundant long after the Carboniferous, in the Early Cretaceous , when it is found in association with insects. The oldest amber with arthropod inclusions comes from the Late Triassic (late Carnian c. 230 Ma) of Italy, where four microscopic (0.2–0.1 mm) mites, Triasacarus , Ampezzoa , Minyacarus and Cheirolepidoptus , and a poorly preserved nematoceran fly were found in millimetre-sized droplets of amber. The oldest amber with significant numbers of arthropod inclusions comes from Lebanon. This amber, referred to as Lebanese amber ,
2190-589: The Lithuanian term for amber is gintaras and the Latvian dzintars . These words, and the Slavic jantar and Hungarian gyanta ('resin'), are thought to originate from Phoenician jainitar ("sea-resin"). A number of regional and varietal names have been applied to ambers over the centuries, including Allingite , Beckerite , Gedanite , Kochenite , Krantzite , and Stantienite . Theophrastus discussed amber in
2263-459: The Neolithic times, and worked as a gemstone since antiquity. Amber is used in jewelry and 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 . Amber occurring in coal seams is also called resinite , and
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2336-502: The Rivne Oblast of Ukraine, referred to as Rivne amber , is mined illegally by organised crime groups, who deforest the surrounding areas and pump water into the sediments to extract the amber, causing severe environmental deterioration. The Vienna amber factories, which use pale amber to manufacture pipes and other smoking tools, turn it on a lathe and polish it with whitening and water or with rotten stone and oil. The final luster
2409-565: The USSR in 1946, becoming the Kaliningrad Oblast . Pieces of amber torn from the seafloor are cast up by the waves and collected by hand, dredging, or diving. Elsewhere, amber is mined, both in open works and underground galleries. Then nodules of blue earth have to be removed and an opaque crust must be cleaned off, which can be done in revolving barrels containing sand and water. Erosion removes this crust from sea-worn amber. Dominican amber
2482-569: The 4th century BCE, as did Pytheas ( c. 330 BCE ), whose work "On the Ocean" is lost, but was referenced by Pliny, according to whose Natural History : Pytheas says that the Gutones , a people of Germany, inhabit the shores of an estuary of the Ocean called Mentonomon, their territory extending a distance of six thousand stadia; that, at one day's sail from this territory, is the Isle of Abalus , upon
2555-591: The Germans exported amber to Pannonia , from where the Veneti distributed it onwards. The ancient Italic peoples of southern Italy used to work amber; the National Archaeological Museum of Siritide (Museo Archeologico Nazionale della Siritide) at Policoro in the province of Matera ( Basilicata ) displays important surviving examples. It has been suggested that amber used in antiquity, as at Mycenae and in
2628-635: The Kaliningrad factory began in 2006. Chery car sales began in Russia in May 2006. In the first six months of 2007, 18,558 vehicles were sold (of which Amulet - 10,119, Tiggo - 4,986, Fora - 2,596, QQ - 825, Oriental Son - 32), allowing Chery to take 12th place in the overall ranking in terms of sales in Russia. In 2007, in Russia, it sold 37,120 Chery cars. The factory produced 40,000 Chery cars that same year from semi-knocked-down kits. In March 2008, Avtotor stopped assembling cars for Chery. The main cause being
2701-496: The amber of Jordan including the oldest zorapterans , clerid beetles , umenocoleid roaches , and achiliid planthoppers . Burmese amber from the Hukawng Valley in northern Myanmar is the only commercially exploited Cretaceous amber. Uranium–lead dating of zircon crystals associated with the deposit have given an estimated depositional age of approximately 99 million years ago. Over 1,300 species have been described from
2774-465: The amber to have an unexpected color. Pyrites may give a bluish color. Bony amber owes its cloudy opacity to numerous tiny bubbles inside the resin. However, so-called black amber is really a kind of jet . In darkly clouded and even opaque amber, inclusions can be imaged using high-energy, high-contrast, high-resolution X-rays . Amber is globally distributed in or around all continents , mainly in rocks of Cretaceous age or younger. Historically,
2847-459: The amber while the resin was yet fresh, suggesting relations with the flora of eastern Asia and the southern part of North America. Heinrich Göppert named the common amber-yielding pine of the Baltic forests Pinites succiniter , but as the wood does not seem to differ from that of the existing genus it has been also called Pinus succinifera . It is improbable that the production of amber was limited to
2920-520: The amber, with over 300 in 2019 alone. Baltic amber is found as irregular nodules in marine glauconitic sand, known as blue earth , occurring in Upper Eocene strata of Sambia in Prussia. It appears to have been partly derived from older Eocene deposits and it occurs also as a derivative phase in later formations, such as glacial drift . Relics of an abundant flora occur as inclusions trapped within
2993-900: The assembly of the Hyundai i40 sedan and wagon, and in July 2013, of the brand's flagship, the Hyundai Equus . In October 2015, the Hyundai Elantra was added to the line-up. Kia was the initial licensor for Avtotor's manufacturing, and the plant has produced more than 240,000 vehicles for Kia. Among the models produced at the Avtotor plant are the Clarus, Rocsta, Avella, Besta, Pregio, Carnival I, Carnival II, Carnival IV, Rio I, Rio II, Opirus I, Opirus II, Magentis I, Magentis II, Carens I, Carens II, Sportage I, Sportage II, Sportage III, Ceed, Soul, and Mohave. In February 2016, Avtotor started production on
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3066-437: The cherry, and resin from the ordinary pine. It is a liquid at first, which issues forth in considerable quantities, and is gradually hardened [...] Our forefathers, too, were of opinion that it is the juice of a tree, and for this reason gave it the name of "succinum" and one great proof that it is the produce of a tree of the pine genus, is the fact that it emits a pine-like smell when rubbed, and that it burns, when ignited, with
3139-593: The coast west of Königsberg in Prussia was the world's leading source of amber. The first mentions of amber deposits there date back to the 12th century. Juodkrantė in Lithuania was established in the mid-19th century as a mining town of amber. About 90% of the world's extractable amber is still located in that area, which was transferred to the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic of
3212-462: The company is a portmanteau of "auto" and the German word "tor", meaning "gate". In 1997, the new plant also began assembling Kia automobiles. In the aftermath of the 1998 Russian financial crisis and the ensuing drop in automobile sales, the company found itself in a difficult financial position. To mitigate the consequences of the crisis, the company changed its business model. The company secured
3285-553: The company's revenue amounted to 9.5 billion rubles. Avtotor was founded in 1996 by a group of investors, led by current majority owner and chairman of the board of directors, Vladimir Scherbakov , former Deputy Prime Minister of the USSR and Chairman of the State Committee for Labour and Social Problems . With an investment of $ 130,000,000, an assembly plant was installed in an unoccupied shipyard in Kaliningrad, with an original plan to produce Nissan automobiles. The name of
3358-452: The development of large lumps of amber of irregular form. Amber can be classified into several forms. Most fundamentally, there are two types of plant resin with the potential for fossilization. Terpenoids , produced by conifers and angiosperms , consist of ring structures formed of isoprene (C 5 H 8 ) units. Phenolic resins are today only produced by angiosperms, and tend to serve functional uses. The extinct medullosans produced
3431-570: The early 13th century and subsequently became part of the German Empire (Deutsches Reich), forming its easternmost province ( East Prussia – Ostpreußen) with the capital Königsberg (now Kaliningrad). After World War II the region was annexed by the USSR in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement (July/August 1945) and its five million German residents were expelled. In 1946, the USSR incorporated
3504-488: The factory began producing the BMW 3 Series (E46) , and later, the new 5 Series (E60) . In July 2009, Avtotor increased the capacity of the plant and began production of the crossovers BMW X5 and X6 . At the end of May 2010, the company announced the start of assembly on the new BMW 5 Series (F10) for the Russian market from kits received from Germany. The BMW line-up produced in Kaliningrad has expanded over time with
3577-404: The family Sciadopityaceae that once lived in north Europe. The abnormal development of resin in living trees ( succinosis ) can result in the formation of amber. Impurities are quite often present, especially when the resin has dropped onto the ground, so the material may be useless except for varnish-making. Such impure amber is called firniss . Such inclusion of other substances can cause
3650-620: The fear that the government would deprive the factory of its privileges enjoyed under the Special Economic Zone , such as duty-free import of components. In August 2003, Avtotor and General Motors signed a set of agreements on the organization of production of GM vehicles at the Kaliningrad plant. In August 2004, the Kaliningrad plant started production of the Chevrolet TrailBlazer and Chevrolet Tahoe , and in October 2004, of
3723-494: The following models: E65/66 (7 Series) , F01/F02 (7 Series) , E90 (3 Series) , E70 (X5) , E71 (X6) , E83 (X3) and E84 (X1) . In May 2015, BMW released a statement postponing the decision to invest in another plant in Russia due to economic uncertainty in the country. There have been rumors in the media about the quality of Russian made BMWs. These vehicles also did not have factory and manufacturer warranties, unlike their German-made counterparts. Chery car assembly in
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#17330848816563796-494: The local factories. The facilities are situated in Kaliningrad (e.g., Avtotor as well as in the oblast (e.g., NPO CTS ). This article states the FEZ's legal and economic situation as at the end of 2004. 54°41′38″N 20°26′35″E / 54.694°N 20.443°E / 54.694; 20.443 Amber Amber is fossilized tree resin . Examples of it have been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since
3869-567: The manufacture of jewelry and ornaments, and also in folk medicine . Avtotor Avtotor ( Russian : Автотор ) is an automobile manufacturing company located in Kaliningrad Oblast , Russia . Avtotor was established in 1996. By 2008, it was one of the largest producers and assemblers of cars in the world. Industry publication Automotive Manufacturing Solutions estimates the company's revenue for 2011 at 4 billion euros and total employees at 3,500, although credit rating agency Expert estimated total revenue in 2017 at $ 689 million. In 2022,
3942-413: The most highly prized amber is transparent, in contrast to the very common cloudy amber and opaque amber. Opaque amber contains numerous minute bubbles. This kind of amber is known as "bony amber". Although all Dominican amber is fluorescent, the rarest Dominican amber is blue amber. It turns blue in natural sunlight and any other partially or wholly ultraviolet light source. In long-wave UV light it has
4015-548: The odour and appearance of torch-pine wood. He also states that amber is also found in Egypt and India, and he even refers to the electrostatic properties of amber, by saying that "in Syria the women make the whorls of their spindles of this substance, and give it the name of harpax [from ἁρπάζω, "to drag"] from the circumstance that it attracts leaves towards it, chaff, and the light fringe of tissues". The Romans traded for amber from
4088-486: The period 1995-1997, it seemed to evolve into an emerging Russian province (the much talked-about "Hong Kong on the Baltic Sea"), thanks to its proximity to the European Union. Contrary to legislative intention, however, it did not develop into an export zone (product assembly), but instead turned into an import zone for German and Polish consumable goods. After the Russian financial crisis in mid-1998 it rapidly turned into
4161-532: The prehistory of the Mediterranean, came from deposits in Sicily . Pliny also cites the opinion of Nicias ( c. 470–413 BCE), according to whom amber is a liquid produced by the rays of the sun; and that these rays, at the moment of the sun's setting, striking with the greatest force upon the surface of the soil, leave upon it an unctuous sweat, which is carried off by the tides of the Ocean, and thrown up upon
4234-516: The presence of amber, the island could have been Heligoland , Zealand , the shores of Gdańsk Bay , the Sambia Peninsula or the Curonian Lagoon , which were historically the richest sources of amber in northern Europe. It is assumed that there were well-established trade routes for amber connecting the Baltic with the Mediterranean (known as the " Amber Road "). Pliny states explicitly that
4307-562: The recorded Old High German word glas and by the Old English word glær for "amber" (compare glass ). In Middle Low German , amber was known as berne-, barn-, börnstēn (with etymological roots related to "burn" and to "stone" ). The Low German term became dominant also in High German by the 18th century, thus modern German Bernstein besides Dutch barnsteen . In the Baltic languages ,
4380-492: The region into the RSFSR under the name "Kaliningrad Oblast". For the following 45 years the region was predominantly used as a military base. Kaliningrad is located 600 km from Berlin, 300 km from Warsaw, 831 km from St. Petersburg, and 1,000 km from Moscow. Beginning from the early 1990s, Free Economic Zones mushroomed in the Russian Federation. However, as a result of poor planning, most of them failed. Today, only
4453-404: The resin first into copal . Sustained heat and pressure drives off terpenes and results in the formation of amber. For this to happen, the resin must be resistant to decay. Many trees produce resin, but in the majority of cases this deposit is broken down by physical and biological processes. Exposure to sunlight, rain, microorganisms, and extreme temperatures tends to disintegrate the resin. For
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#17330848816564526-464: The resin producer. Amber sometimes contains animals or plant matter that became caught in the resin as it was secreted. Insects , spiders and even their webs, annelids , frogs , crustaceans , bacteria and amoebae , marine microfossils, wood, flowers and fruit, hair, feathers and other small organisms have been recovered in Cretaceous ambers (deposited c. 130 million years ago ). There
4599-521: The resin to survive long enough to become amber, it must be resistant to such forces or be produced under conditions that exclude them. Fossil resins from Europe fall into two categories, the Baltic ambers and another that resembles the Agathis group. Fossil resins from the Americas and Africa are closely related to the modern genus Hymenaea , while Baltic ambers are thought to be fossil resins from plants of
4672-461: The shores of Germany. Besides the fanciful explanations according to which amber is "produced by the Sun", Pliny cites opinions that are well aware of its origin in tree resin, citing the native Latin name of succinum ( sūcinum , from sucus "juice"). In Book 37, section XI of Natural History , Pliny wrote: Amber is produced from a marrow discharged by trees belonging to the pine genus, like gum from
4745-677: The shores of the southern Baltic at least as far back as the time of Nero . Amber has a long history of use in China, with the first written record from 200 BCE. Early in the 19th century, the first reports of amber found in North America came from discoveries in New Jersey along Crosswicks Creek near Trenton , at Camden , and near Woodbury . Amber is heterogeneous in composition, but consists of several resinous bodies more or less soluble in alcohol , ether and chloroform , associated with an insoluble bituminous substance. Amber
4818-638: The shores of which, amber is thrown up by the waves in spring, it being an excretion of the sea in a concrete form; as, also, that the inhabitants use this amber by way of fuel, and sell it to their neighbors, the Teutones . Earlier Pliny says that Pytheas refers to a large island—three days' sail from the Scythian coast and called Balcia by Xenophon of Lampsacus (author of a fanciful travel book in Greek)—as Basilia —a name generally equated with Abalus . Given
4891-494: The term ambrite is applied to that found specifically within New Zealand coal seams. The English word amber derives from Arabic ʿanbar عنبر (ultimately from Middle Persian ambar ) via Middle Latin ambar and Middle French ambre . The word referred to what is now known as ambergris ( ambre gris or "gray amber"), a solid waxy substance derived from the sperm whale . The word, in its sense of "ambergris,"
4964-708: The territory of the former USSR. In 1994 it was renamed the " Russian Federation " (RF). The Kaliningrad Region ( Kaliningrad Oblast ) is one of the 89 provinces (so-called "subjects of the federation" ) that make up the RF. Each of these provinces has its own constitution as well as its own provincial parliament. However, they vary greatly in status, ranging from that of Republics within the RF (e.g. Tatarstan ) over Greater Regions ( kraya ) and Regions ( oblasti ), Autonomous Districts ( avtonomnye rajony ) and so-called "Metropolitan Areas of Federal Significance" (the cities of Moscow and St Petersburg). An opaque feature of Russian federalism
5037-473: The tropics. It is not "succinite" but " retinite ". These ambers are formed from resins with a sesquiterpenoid base, such as cadinene . These ambers are polystyrenes . Class IV is something of a catch-all : its ambers are not polymerized, but mainly consist of cedrene -based sesquiterpenoids. Class V resins are considered to be produced by a pine or pine relative. They comprise a mixture of diterpinoid resins and n -alkyl compounds. Their main variety
5110-449: The way of production. This class is by far the most abundant. It comprises labdatriene carboxylic acids such as communic or ozic acids . It is further split into three sub-classes. Classes Ia and Ib utilize regular labdanoid diterpenes (e.g. communic acid, communol, biformenes), while Ic uses enantio labdanoids (ozic acid, ozol, enantio biformenes). Class Ia includes Succinite (= 'normal' Baltic amber) and Glessite . They have
5183-498: The words electric, electricity , and their relatives because of amber's ability to bear a charge of static electricity . Pliny the Elder says that the German name of amber was glæsum , "for which reason the Romans, when Germanicus commanded the fleet in those parts, gave to one of these islands the name of Glæsaria, which by the barbarians was known as Austeravia". This is confirmed by
5256-696: Was adopted in Middle English in the 14th century. In the Romance languages , the sense of the word was extended to Baltic amber (fossil resin) from as early as the late 13th century. At first called white or yellow amber ( ambre jaune ), this meaning was adopted in English by the early 15th century. As the use of ambergris waned, this became the main sense of the word. The two substances ("yellow amber" and "gray amber") conceivably became associated or confused because they both were found washed up on beaches. Ambergris
5329-609: Was called amber in Europe (Old French and Middle English ambre). Found along the southern shore of the Baltic Sea, yellow amber reached the Middle East and western Europe via trade. Its coastal acquisition may have been one reason yellow amber came to be designated by the same term as ambergris. Moreover, like ambergris, the resin could be burned as an incense. The resin's most popular use was, however, for ornamentation—easily cut and polished, it could be transformed into beautiful jewelry. Much of
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