Amber is fossilized tree resin. It has been appreciated for its color (orange, brown and, sometimes, red) and natural beauty since the Neolithic times, and worked as a gemstone since classical 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 the term ambrite is applied to that found specifically within New Zealand coal seams.
