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MYITKYINA, MYANMAR (AFP) – "Amber hunters" looking for a dinosaur discovery at Jurbadic Park are sifting through mounds of precious resin in Myanmar – a lucrative business that captivates Paleontologists
The morning amber market on the outskirts of Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State, is crowded with merchants who use torches and magnifying glbades to scrutinize pieces of sap from trees. Honey-colored fossilized tree
. uncut pieces with rough edges. Others sell finished products: pendants, necklaces and bracelets made from carefully polished pieces.
Trade takes place a few dozen kilometers from fighting between the Myanmar Army and ethnic Kachin rebels fighting for autonomy, land, identity and natural resources.
The jade and ruby industries overshadow the essentially artisbad trade in amber, but resin can still bring large sums of money to those who control the mines.
In the Myitkyina market, there is money to win Swe.
His specialty is "inclusions", sap that has trapped parts of plants, animals and even dinosaurs before hardening in amber – history hanging inside the resin.
(S $ 136,290) a piece in a shady industry that sees most of the amber smuggled into China
"Even though it contains only an ant or mosquito, every piece is interesting," told AFP. "I value each one of them."
Amber, historically coveted as jewelry by the nobility of China to ancient Greece, has experienced a revival in popular culture through the hit movie "Jurbadic Park", in a theme park where dinosaurs were cloned by extracting DNA from the mosquitoes kept in the resin.
However, most amber announce not Jurbadic but Upper Cretaceous, up to 100 million years ago.
The best-preserved "inclusions" today offer scientists and collectors a three-dimensional fossil, with some creatures even frozen at half-motion.
There are amber deposits found all over the world but, for paleontology, the Kachin mines are irreplaceable, says Xing Lida, 36 years old "The amber mining area of Kachin is the only amber mining site Cretaceous world still exploited in commercial mining, "he said. "There is no better place than Myanmar."
Dr. Xing enjoyed fame among his paleontologist colleagues in 2015 when he brought back a part of a feathered dinosaur tail from Myanmar that dated back to 99 million years ago. his discovery, however, was tinged with disappointment when he returned to try to find the source.
"They said that they did not know, they probably had already sold or broken it." This dinosaur could have even been complete with a "
Amber-loving hunters aside, the main challenge for traders and collectors is to work in a conflict zone.
An upsurge in fighting between the army and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) In recent years, more than 100,000 people have been displaced in the region.
Pamphlets dropped by military helicopters last June have even warned mining residents to leave the area or be seen as cooperating with the rebels.
Now, only the hardiest amber hunters are trying to go there.
"We could almost not reach the mining area because it was very dangerous," said Dr. Xing about his trip in 2015. "We infiltrated when the situation occurred. much attenuated, but no scientist could get in after that. "
He added: "It's a serious problem because, for paleontology, you get a lot of useful information from"
Amber, jade, wood and gold are also the main drivers of the conflict in northern Myanmar, said Ms Hanna Hindstrom of the Global Witness Monitoring Group
. "responsibly sourcing, any company marketing the Amber from Myanmar "could cause or contribute to a range of damage, including conflict and human rights violations," she added.
Mr. Akbar Khan, 52 years old "hunter of "Amber" who runs a street stall in downtown Bangkok, ignored the risks and ethical issues.
He makes frequent visits to Kachin and explains the adrenaline rush that he get to find pieces of dinosaurs, feel like you're walking in nail right now, in paradise, "he said. have a big diamond, so what? The world is full of big diamonds … but the world is not full of amber dinosaurs. "
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