@ScottieWallace - By the Eocene insects had evolved for more than 350 million years on land. They are similar to those today because they are the ancestors of them. Many species are extinct or new sub species have emerged.
it's great to hear someone talk about a subject they clearly love. More is better and I can think of no better way to to counter the religious nut jobs and their alternate view of Earths history that has no place in logic or geology
@orangedac - The insects we see in amber are almost always hollow inside through initial decomposition, it is unlikely that any DNA can be found that would be of any use. Amber dealers are found in the jewelery business and they often have the contacts that work with the mines. The general insect pieces are normally about twice the price of normal amber but it depends on the clarity and rarity of the inclusions.
@Darwinsgift If I have the opportunity to buy a piece of amber with an insect trapped inside, what test can I perform on it to be sure it's real amber? Are there fakes out there?
@ndrthrdr1 - Fake amber is usually blatant with something like a scorpion in it. Real amber smells of pine when you burn it but less drastic measures would to find out where it came from and send me a picture or look up the species in an amber bible such as "Atlas of Plants and Animals in Baltic Amber" by Wolfgang Weitschat & Winifred Wichard. An amber dealer works close to the source and has a reputation to keep yet an ebay dealer has not. Avoid Chinese (in China) amber dealers also.
David Attenborough's "Thec Amber Time Machine" was on last Sunday week, June 13, 2010, at about midday, on the Channel 9 network in Australia. For me, it was nearly the only thing worth watching on TV all weekend. It was a thoroughly absorbing and worthwhile production.
Did anyone ever see David Attenborough's Amber adventure? It was positively brilliant - perhaps one of the best nature documentaries about pre-history.
I think you'll enjoy it. It opens up with Attenborough discussing how he came across his first amber piece as a child during the
war, and what he discovered inside the piece. It's has a unique personal element to the story and he even discusses his brother Richard in Jurassic Park. It's available on Netflix - "Attenborough in Paradise and other personal voyages". I'm a huge nature doco fan - this one's definitely in the top five.
I couldn't stop listening. You tell the story in a very interesting way. Thanks! I bought some amber and wanted to know more about it and there you were. Very good.
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
gift - one of the reasons why its difficult for me to take the theory of evolution seriously is because of the "goblin" shark - this family of sharks is SUPPOSEDLY from 40million years ago and yet. .a living goblin shark was recently found and. .it looked EXACTLY the same as the fossil ones. .mmmm. .are you sure your ASSUMPTIONS about evolution are not based on wishful "thinking" - if the goblin shark didnt change - what makes you think ANY animal changed?
Sharks are nature's knives. New designs are sometimes thought of, new materials found, but at the end of the day you've essentially got a sharp flat bit on a duller round bit.
Sharks work the same way. They don't evolve very quickly because they don't NEED to, they're already perfectly suited to what they do, and any change occurring in them is likely a detriment and not an advantage.
Omberus - at last! - an evolutionist who speaks in plain english! I get what you're saying - the implication being that animals "evolve" when there is a need to - for survival reasons.
Interesting question. Are there species in amber not found currently? I did a google for 'amber fossil' and found 'The first scorpion fossil from the Cretaceous amber of France" Comptes Rendus Palevol Volume 2, Issue 3, April 2003, Pages 213-219 "fossil belonging to a new family, genus and species of scorpion ..." I added 'new species' and got The New York Times: January 30, 1996 "with fossils of 100 previously unknown species of insects and plants trapped in the ancient fossilized tree sap".
Many of the species found in amber are extinct yet many are also from species that still exist, this is exactly what you would expect with evolution. The species that we still find however are restricted to tropical and sub tropical areas. We also find that the species that still exist have evolved sub species that can only be found today. By this stage of insect evolution they had already had a 300 million year head start on land.
No 1 - Although Baltic amber is my speciality, amber occurs all over the world varying greatly as does the resin producing plant. Pre fossilised amber is called copal and it hardens over great time in the same way that plants carbonize to brown coal then hard coal. Copal can be dated as originating during human history.
No2 - Recently amber particles have been found in hard coal of the Upper Carboniferous (320-285 million years ago) yet this probably formed inside the plants and as such not considered resin traps for insects. The oldest amber of significant interest is found in small non commercial sized deposits in the Lebanon, estimated to have an absolute age of 120-130 million years....
No3...these have proved valuable to science as they contain a host of information concerning the evolution of many insect groups. Dating of amber relies on the universal stratigraphic scale and the strata in which it is found though this gives only a minimum age due to the water transportation it can make. Carbon 14 dating (the only carbon element in amber) cannot be used as it is only good for up to 60,000 years.
One of my favorite areas in the Western United States is the Eocene age petrified "forest" located at various areas around Yellowstone National Park, including Specimen Ridge. If you entered into a time machine, you would find a tropical forest, surrounded by volcanoes. Your information was very consise and most interesting. Thank you.
Ok, so after the dinosaurs died from the meteorite, there was a slight cooling. Was that a 'nuclear winter' effect from the dust in the atmosphere? Following that you said that there was a very warm period. Was that from the carbon dioxide from all the burned forests and dead matter? If so, it's quite amazing how that time period begins to make so much sense!
No 1. It was warm at the time of the last dinosaurs yet arid. After the extinctions the sky must have turned black, possibly for a couple of years or so. This caused mass extinction on both sea and land. With no algae to feed the oceans plankton the higher forms were wiped out. Life absorbs carbon dioxide and indeed would contribute to the disaster. I doubt it was just burning though!
No 2. As time went on the survivors had a free range on the devestated earth. With large vegetarian species extinct the plants must of had a fairly free range for a while and became the catalyst for the humid conditions to follow. We see today the effects of huge forests on rainfall.
correction on No 1. "After the"... should read "During the"
interesting, and yes the earth evolves, and insects/animals etc do not! proven by your amber there.
ScottieWallace 11 months ago
@ScottieWallace - By the Eocene insects had evolved for more than 350 million years on land. They are similar to those today because they are the ancestors of them. Many species are extinct or new sub species have emerged.
Darwinsgift 11 months ago
Did you say 'Denovian' at 0:27? I think you meant 'Devonian'.
eepruls 1 year ago
@eepruls - Slip of the tongue! - Normal for me. LOL!
Darwinsgift 1 year ago
@Darwinsgift I figured it was just a slip! Great video though!
eepruls 1 year ago
it's great to hear someone talk about a subject they clearly love. More is better and I can think of no better way to to counter the religious nut jobs and their alternate view of Earths history that has no place in logic or geology
rd1999 1 year ago
will it ever be possible to clone insects from amber?
also where would one pick up a genuine piece of amber with an insect in it and how much would it cost?
orangedac 1 year ago
@orangedac - The insects we see in amber are almost always hollow inside through initial decomposition, it is unlikely that any DNA can be found that would be of any use. Amber dealers are found in the jewelery business and they often have the contacts that work with the mines. The general insect pieces are normally about twice the price of normal amber but it depends on the clarity and rarity of the inclusions.
Darwinsgift 1 year ago
@Darwinsgift If I have the opportunity to buy a piece of amber with an insect trapped inside, what test can I perform on it to be sure it's real amber? Are there fakes out there?
ndrthrdr1 8 months ago
@ndrthrdr1 - Fake amber is usually blatant with something like a scorpion in it. Real amber smells of pine when you burn it but less drastic measures would to find out where it came from and send me a picture or look up the species in an amber bible such as "Atlas of Plants and Animals in Baltic Amber" by Wolfgang Weitschat & Winifred Wichard. An amber dealer works close to the source and has a reputation to keep yet an ebay dealer has not. Avoid Chinese (in China) amber dealers also.
Darwinsgift 8 months ago
David Attenborough's "Thec Amber Time Machine" was on last Sunday week, June 13, 2010, at about midday, on the Channel 9 network in Australia. For me, it was nearly the only thing worth watching on TV all weekend. It was a thoroughly absorbing and worthwhile production.
Richardhedditch261 1 year ago
My names Amber
gooeyputty 1 year ago
@Darwinsgift Thanks for your thoughts.
Nice vid.
Pondering the wonders of Earth's life and geology, and our entire universe for that matter, is what conciseness is all about. (IMO)
I often wonder why some people, even intelligent people, just can't seem to grasp the
amazing enormity of time, and it's effects.
My only conclusion is I should be thankful that my father constantly provoked thought, and he answered most of my never ending questions.
haha (Thanks Dad)
Blake B. KCMO
b1aflatoxin 1 year ago
Did anyone ever see David Attenborough's Amber adventure? It was positively brilliant - perhaps one of the best nature documentaries about pre-history.
moonsafari200 2 years ago
@moonsafari200 Thanks for the heads up!!!
Attenborough's "Life" and "The Private Life of Plants" series are my favorite nature based docs ever!!! Talk about evolution, he shows
some of the most amazing flora and fauna ever to grace our earth. So thanks very much. I found out in Wikipedia, that it's called
the Amber Time Machine. It's #7 in an a 7 part serise called:
Attenborough in Paradise and Other Personal Voyages collection of 7 documentaries.
I gotta check this out!!! Thanks again!
b1aflatoxin 1 year ago
I think you'll enjoy it. It opens up with Attenborough discussing how he came across his first amber piece as a child during the
war, and what he discovered inside the piece. It's has a unique personal element to the story and he even discusses his brother Richard in Jurassic Park. It's available on Netflix - "Attenborough in Paradise and other personal voyages". I'm a huge nature doco fan - this one's definitely in the top five.
moonsafari200 1 year ago
Wow, brilliant pictures of your amber pieces!
0x8x0 2 years ago
"In my most extreme fluctuations I have never been an Atheist in the sense of denying the existence of a God Letters of Charles Darwin
elijahsfire 3 years ago
I couldn't stop listening. You tell the story in a very interesting way. Thanks! I bought some amber and wanted to know more about it and there you were. Very good.
Ram2481 3 years ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Keywords are: "you've GOT to believe in time periods". LOL these vids are B-O-R-I-N-G! Watch some Ken Ham, much easier to listen to.
skihas1 3 years ago
I agree that Ken Ham is hilarious to listen to and far from boring! ..... It is a shame that he is a psycologically deranged child abuser though!
Darwinsgift 3 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
gift - one of the reasons why its difficult for me to take the theory of evolution seriously is because of the "goblin" shark - this family of sharks is SUPPOSEDLY from 40million years ago and yet. .a living goblin shark was recently found and. .it looked EXACTLY the same as the fossil ones. .mmmm. .are you sure your ASSUMPTIONS about evolution are not based on wishful "thinking" - if the goblin shark didnt change - what makes you think ANY animal changed?
yastunt 3 years ago
Sharks are nature's knives. New designs are sometimes thought of, new materials found, but at the end of the day you've essentially got a sharp flat bit on a duller round bit.
Sharks work the same way. They don't evolve very quickly because they don't NEED to, they're already perfectly suited to what they do, and any change occurring in them is likely a detriment and not an advantage.
LordOmberus 3 years ago 3
Omberus - at last! - an evolutionist who speaks in plain english! I get what you're saying - the implication being that animals "evolve" when there is a need to - for survival reasons.
yastunt 3 years ago
Yastunt: Precisely. Sharks don't evolve very much or very quickly because there isn't much they could do differently to survive better.
LordOmberus 3 years ago
Wow, where did you get that amber? I live in northern Georgia (state, not country)and i haven't even seen fossil excavation sites.
Twobitz1 4 years ago
Wow, nice pieces. I'm unlucky living in the netherlands our flat sandy country does not seem to be overly crowded with any fossils ;(
So i'll have to do with your video's and that is great too, thanks.
mindwis3 4 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
u guys dont actually belive this shit god and christianity is real not this crap
tacoduck718 4 years ago
tacoduck718 - listen to the video again, then
do research on the internet and take college level courses in: physics, thermodynamics, chemistry, genetics and molecular biology. THEN
you can make an informed comment. Before then your opinion only tells us you are not educated.
farvision 4 years ago 3
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Yeah why don't you educate us blind guide. Amber fossils prove evolution is a lie. They bugs look exactly the same as they do today.
25 million years old and no evolution in the amber recors. What a joke!
elijahsfire 4 years ago
Interesting question. Are there species in amber not found currently? I did a google for 'amber fossil' and found 'The first scorpion fossil from the Cretaceous amber of France" Comptes Rendus Palevol Volume 2, Issue 3, April 2003, Pages 213-219 "fossil belonging to a new family, genus and species of scorpion ..." I added 'new species' and got The New York Times: January 30, 1996 "with fossils of 100 previously unknown species of insects and plants trapped in the ancient fossilized tree sap".
farvision 4 years ago
Many of the species found in amber are extinct yet many are also from species that still exist, this is exactly what you would expect with evolution. The species that we still find however are restricted to tropical and sub tropical areas. We also find that the species that still exist have evolved sub species that can only be found today. By this stage of insect evolution they had already had a 300 million year head start on land.
Darwinsgift 4 years ago
@elijahsfire, you don't know what you're talking about, you dopey, little cunt.
BigDuke6ixx 1 year ago
Be silent child go play with your toys.
HoweFactor 4 years ago
What are the youngest and oldest pieces of amber discovered to date, and how were they dated?
Gwaithmir 4 years ago
No 1 - Although Baltic amber is my speciality, amber occurs all over the world varying greatly as does the resin producing plant. Pre fossilised amber is called copal and it hardens over great time in the same way that plants carbonize to brown coal then hard coal. Copal can be dated as originating during human history.
Darwinsgift 4 years ago
No2 - Recently amber particles have been found in hard coal of the Upper Carboniferous (320-285 million years ago) yet this probably formed inside the plants and as such not considered resin traps for insects. The oldest amber of significant interest is found in small non commercial sized deposits in the Lebanon, estimated to have an absolute age of 120-130 million years....
Darwinsgift 4 years ago
No3...these have proved valuable to science as they contain a host of information concerning the evolution of many insect groups. Dating of amber relies on the universal stratigraphic scale and the strata in which it is found though this gives only a minimum age due to the water transportation it can make. Carbon 14 dating (the only carbon element in amber) cannot be used as it is only good for up to 60,000 years.
Darwinsgift 4 years ago
Informed and very well delivered. Enjoyed your video.
ftom2006 4 years ago
One of my favorite areas in the Western United States is the Eocene age petrified "forest" located at various areas around Yellowstone National Park, including Specimen Ridge. If you entered into a time machine, you would find a tropical forest, surrounded by volcanoes. Your information was very consise and most interesting. Thank you.
lawilson200 4 years ago
Ok, so after the dinosaurs died from the meteorite, there was a slight cooling. Was that a 'nuclear winter' effect from the dust in the atmosphere? Following that you said that there was a very warm period. Was that from the carbon dioxide from all the burned forests and dead matter? If so, it's quite amazing how that time period begins to make so much sense!
farvision 4 years ago
No 1. It was warm at the time of the last dinosaurs yet arid. After the extinctions the sky must have turned black, possibly for a couple of years or so. This caused mass extinction on both sea and land. With no algae to feed the oceans plankton the higher forms were wiped out. Life absorbs carbon dioxide and indeed would contribute to the disaster. I doubt it was just burning though!
Darwinsgift 4 years ago
No 2. As time went on the survivors had a free range on the devestated earth. With large vegetarian species extinct the plants must of had a fairly free range for a while and became the catalyst for the humid conditions to follow. We see today the effects of huge forests on rainfall.
correction on No 1. "After the"... should read "During the"
Darwinsgift 4 years ago
Darwinsgift, Id like to here more of your thoughts. Very concise. Great vid.
busymartian 4 years ago
I really enjoyed this, well done.
skepticalbuddha 4 years ago