Scientists face huge challenges when trying to reconstruct our planet’s past. Fortunately, there is a series of clues in the form of fossils that allows us to peer into nature’s formative years. Among the most intriguing discoveries are the vast deposits of amber from a particular chapter in our planet’s history.
Though resins, which eventually harden into amber, are natural tree products, their abundance in the form of fossils has sparked renewed interest in the scientific world. These time capsules don’t just preserve resin or ancient specimens trapped in them—they also capture traces of the ecosystems that shaped life’s future.
In this gallery, we look at how and why plants from a bygone era produced excessive amounts of resin, and what it tells us about the ancient world. Curious? Click on to know more.