in association with wood of Quercus and leguminous 
trees. Because the amber somewhat resembles succinite 
chemically, however, it has been considered to be of 
coniferous origin. 
Coordinated efforts of geologists, paleontologists, zool- 
ogists, botanists and chemists in studying the amber from 
Chiapas, Mexico may provide an opportunity to solve 
some of the previously unanswered questions about am- 
bers in general. Solution of a number of problems will 
result probably only from concomittance of evidence. 
The tropical location of Chiapas allows study of modern 
ecological conditions that provide clues to past condi- 
tions. This is true because: 1) genera which produce 
copious amounts of resin occur predominantly under 
tropical conditions, 2) despite evolution within species 
populations and some differentiation of vegetation pat- 
terns, there has probably been sufficient stability since 
Cretaceous times to provide a possible framework of com- 
parison of the ecological conditions of the fossil and mod- 
ern genera. In addition, study of the natural conditions 
under which trees produce excessive amounts of resin, 
the types of material included in it, and the ways in 
which it is preserved can be studied under conditions 
that may be similar to those that existed when the amber 
was being formed. Present evidence suggests that pos- 
sible amber producers in Chiapas may have been from 
sources not considered in previous studies. 
Modern techniques of analysis, such as infra-red spec- 
trophotometry, gas chromatography, as well as resino- 
graphic methods, may provide additional corroboration 
of the plant source through comparison of modern resins 
with the fossil. Related studies concerning the nature 
of oxidation and polymerization which have taken place 
during fossilization will be helpful in understanding the 
chemical changes in the resin as well as possible altera- 
tion of the inclusions. 
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