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Posted on: 1 July 2018 at 20:30
By Agence France-Presse
"Amber hunters" looking for a discovery of the dinosaur in the Jurassic Park style sift the mounds of the precious resin in Myanmar – a lucrative business that captivates paleontologists but also fuels a decades-long conflict in the Far North
Pieces of polished amber, a fossilized tree sap of Honey color, for sale at a market in Danai, Kachin State (AFP / Ye Aung THU / MANILA BULLETIN)
The amber market on the outskirts of Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State , is invaded by traders who use torches and magnifying glasses to scrutinize the pieces of honey-colored fossilized sap.
Some sell uncut pieces. Others sell finished products: pendants, necklaces and bracelets made from carefully polished pieces.
The 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 mostly artisanal amber trade, but resin can still bring large sums to those who control the mines.
On the Myitkyina market, there is money to win Myo Swe.
His specialty is "inclusions", the sap that trapped parts of plants, animals and even dinosaurs before hardening in amber – the story hanging inside the resin.
$ 100,000 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," said the 40-year-old man. AFP. "I value each one of them."
Dinosaur Tales
Amber, historically coveted by the nobility of China to ancient Greece, experienced a revival of the Popular culture thanks to the hit movie of the 1990s "Jurassic Park", in a theme park where dinosaurs were cloned by extracting DNA from mosquitoes kept in the resin.
However, most amber announce not Jurassic but superior Cretaceous, up to 100 million years ago.
The best-preserved "inclusions" offer scientists and collectors of today a three-dimensional fossil, with some creatures even frozen at half-motion.
Amber deposits are found all over the world but, for paleontology, the Kachin mines are "irreplaceable", says Lida Xing, 36, of the Chinese University of Geosciences Beijing [19659007] "The amber mining area of Kachin is the only Cretaceous amber mining site in the world of mining," he says. "There is no better place than Myanmar."
Lida Xing enjoyed fame among her 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 probably had already sold or broken it.This dinosaur might even have been complete with a head," he told AFP. in Beijing
& # 39; Conflict amber & # 39;
Amber lovers aside, the main challenge for traders and collectors
A resurgence of fighting between the army and the army of independence Kachin (KIA) in recent years has displaced more than 100,000 people in the region.
Leaflets dropped by military helicopters in June According to Human Rights Watch, people living around the mines have been warned to leave the area or to be considered cooperating with the rebels.
Now, only the most robust amber hunters are trying to go there.
the mining area because it was very dangerous, "says Lida Xing about her trip in 2015." We infiltrated when the situation was much lessened, but no scientist did. could come in 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." [19659007] 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 [19659007] Akbar Khan, 52 "Who runs a street stall in downtown Bangkok avoids the risks and ethical issues.
He makes frequent visits to Kachin and explains the adrenaline rush that 39 he gets by finding parts of dinosaurs go back "In the clouds, to heaven," he says.
"If people 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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