Template:POTD/2012-07-13
An ant encased in amber, the name for fossilized tree resin. Amber has been known since at least the fourth century BC and was used as fuel in ancient times, as well as jewelry, a use which continues to this day. The Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder correctly theorized that because insects and other objects were occasionally found in amber, it must have been a liquid at some point in the past. The English word amber derives from the Arabic anbar, via Medieval Latin ambar and Old French ambre. The word originally referred to a precious oil derived from the sperm whale (now called ambergris). The two substances were confused, because they both were found washed up on beaches.Photo: Anders L. Damgaard