Amber taphonomy and collecting biases

Abstract

Taphonomic processes affecting samples of amber inclusions are outlined. Comparison of traditional collecting methods dependent on human recognition of amber nodules (hereafter called picking) with bulk sampling, screening and salt water floatation indicate that significant amounts of amber are overlooked by traditional methods. Picking over-represents large nodules and under-represents small ones. This is significant because small nodules produce the highest number of inclusions per kilogram. Although small nodules have the lowest trapping efficiency, this liability is more than compensated for by their abundance and high proportion of external flows