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Amber fossils date from the Cretaceous period, there are only Myanmar worldwide
Amber hunters looking for a discovery of dinosaurs in the Jurbadic Park style. a precious resin in Myanmar – a lucrative business that captivates paleontologists but also fuels a decades-long conflict in the far north.
The morning amber market on the outskirts of Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State, is filled with torches. magnifying glbades to scan pieces of honey-colored fossilized sap.
Some sell uncut pieces with raw 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 Kachin rebels fighting for autonomy, land, identity and natural resources
Jade and ruby industries overshadow the largely artisbad trade in amber, but resin can still bring large sums to those who control the mines.
Finding the right buyer and sellers could pocket up to $ 100,000 piece in a sleazy industry
In the Myitkyina market there is money to be made, says the trader Myo Swe.
"inclusions", sap that trapped parts of plants, animals and even dinosaurs before hardening into amber – story hanging inside the resin.
Find the right buyer and he could pocket up to $ 100,000 piece in a shady industry "Even if it only contains an ant or a mosquito, every piece is interesting," AFP said. a man of 40 years old. "I value each one of them."
Dinosaur Tales
Amber, historically coveted as jewelry by the nobility of China to ancient Greece, knows a revival of popular culture through the 1990s hit movie "Jurbadic Park", set in a theme park where dinosaurs were cloned by extracting DNA from the mosquitoes preserved in the resin.
However, most amber announce not Jurbadic but superior Cretaceous, up to 100 million
The best preserved "inclusions" offer scientists and collectors of today. 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 Lida Xing, 36, of the University of Geosciences of China in Beijing
"The Kachin amber mining area is the only Cretaceous amber mining site in the world that is still engaged in commercial m," he says. "There is no better place than Myanmar. "
Lida Xing enjoyed fame among his paleontologist colleagues in 2015 when he brought back a part of a 99 million-year-old feathered dinosaur tail from Myanmar. His discovery, however, was tinged with disappointment when he returned to try to find the source.
"They said that they did not know, they had probably already sold or broken it." This dinosaur would have even been complete with a "Amber, jade, wood and gold are also" main engines "of the confl it in northern Myanmar
Amber Conflict
amber amateur 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 has displaced more than 100,000 people in the region.
Pamphlets dropped by army helicopters last June even warned people living around the mines to leave the area or be seen as cooperating with the rebels, according to Human Rights Watch.
"
" We could almost not reach the mining area because it was very dangerous, "says Lida Xing about her trip in 2015." We infiltrated when the situation arose. is much lessened, but no scientist could enter after that. "
"This is a serious problem because, for paleontology, you get a lot of useful information from geological and strata conditions – but we have not been able to do that." [19659004] Amber, jade, wood and gold are also "key drivers" of the conflict in northern Myanmar. "Hanna Hindstrom Global Witness Monitoring Group. In a responsible manner, any company that markets Myanmar amber "could cause or contribute to a range of damage, including conflict and human rights violations," she adds [19659004] Akbar Khan, an extreme fossil of 52 years. "Running a street stall in downtown Bangkok avoids the risks and ethical issues.
He makes frequent visits to Kachin and explains the adrenaline rush he's getting in finding dinosaur coins. "walk in the clouds, to paradise," he says:
"If people have a big diamond, so what? The world is full of big diamonds … but the world n & # Is not full of amber dinosaurs. "
(Except for the title, this story was not published by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed. )
