Fossils in amber offer an exquisite view on dinosaur times—and an ethical minefield

Before scientists can study it, Burmese amber is mined in a conflict zone, smuggled into China and sold

Credits
editor/producer
Meagan Cantwell

supervising producer
Sarah Crespi

story by
Joshua Sokol

story editor
Elizabeth Culotta

photos and videos
Dong Huabao
Dinghua
Meagan Cantwell
Skye
Wang Bo
Xing Lida
Xia Fangyuan

stock footage
Videoblocks

map illustration
Nirja Desai

music
"China" and "Always There"
Nguyên Khôi Nguyên

"Dust in Sunlight"
Podington Bear

[Randopatchi]

My entomology professor went to northern India a few years ago on an expedition and found that railway workers tunneling through rock uncovered an amber deposit. The workers didn’t know it’s valuable, only that it was flammable, and were burning it at night at the worksites for warmth. He bought two giant bags full of amber for a small amount of money, and has been polishing a d researching the assortment over the past years. Who knows what priceless specimens may have been burned before they could be studied?

[sanketjadhav]

It's so sad that most of the fascinating fossils will never make it to scientists

[scott-expv]

finding a dinosaur face in amber would be kind of cool : )

[petitio_principii]

The second guy's accent is so strong that for a moment I thought I could understand Chinese.

[adkinsyum]

OMG! The ULTIMATE flea market experience. For SCIENTISTS!

[cantho]

Amber was the one of the first still photo created by mother nature.

[JDNicoll]

It’s amazing to see ants from 99 MILLION years ago.

[kaushikmalepati]

That scientist who discovered the dinosaur feather is so dope 😆

[DeuceGenius]

ethics be damned. get the fossils into the scientists hands

[combatgirl]

Of course all specimen featured here were really incredible but did anyone else also notice that insane handcrafted display shelf at 6:17?? WOW!!

[aquaeious]

The question in my head is how the heck that ammonite get caught inside an amber...?

[jenniferbeyer]

Amazing discoverys. I love Amber. I collect pieces, but I do not have anything as spectacular as those shown. I hope to someday find a beautiful center piece for my collection. Please continue to show the discoveries that you have found.

[TheDogWithHat]

Imagine that they find a whole dino in amber with its tail and feathers and colour
This will be so cool it will automatically tell us how it looked like

[Jacno]

If they find a dino testicle in amber we're gonna be riding dinosaurs to work boys

[iilikecereal]

i feel bad for the little dinosaur that managed to get its tail stuck in amber and probably got killed by something else

[kamranki]

YES, just today a skull from a tiny dinosaur was discovered today in amber!

[therealzilch]

Nice work. One picky correction: at 2:44 the subtitles say "jeweler's loop". That's a jeweler's loupe.

[jerometaperman]

But specimens in amber are not fossils. I mean, a fossil is a stone replica of bone or tissue. The amber specimens are the original tissue. Am I right?

[Foxiepawstotti]

Hes funny, the one who said going to the market made him feel like a drug dealer. He looks like a really nice person.

[elcount]

I recently found a piece of amber with organic material in it and possibly and egg shell of some type not sure… any ideas on who I could contact for more info?