Amber has been known since antiquity in Europe, made into pendants, and used
for perfume containers in large quantities since the first millennium
bce. It is a naturally occurring fossilized tree (a certain kind
of northern pine) resin, composed primarily of carbon-hydrogen-oxygen
(C10H16O). It is rather soft (Mohs hardness
2.0–2.5), hence easy to carve, and possesses a resinous luster when
polished. Its colours range from transparent to translucent deep orange-red
to brown and sometimes a more opaque yellow. Solid amber has no smell, but
when powdered it gives off an agreeable aroma. When warmed or burned it has
a characteristic pinewood fragrance. It softens at about 150°C and, if
heated above 200°C, it will break down to give an “oil of amber” and a black
residue. In his Historia naturalis (XXXVII), Pliny the
Elder considers its scent when heated to be the most reliable proof of real
amber.