Description

This piece of Madagascan copal measures 2.25 inches long

Confusingly the name copal is used for both fresh tree resins from Mexico and Central America and partially fossilized resins found around the world. While amber is millions of years old, copal is hundreds of years old.

Madagascan copal is the preserved resin of Hymenaea verrucosa, the East African copal tree. Although copal comes from several localities in Madagascar, primarily in the north, ours is currently found near the town of Nosy Varika, in the Vatovavy Fitovinany region of southeast Madagascar, in the former Fianarantsoa Province.

There is no consensus on the age of Madagascan copal. The island has both shallow deposits of older copal and living trees which continue to leave resin on the surface today. Deposits of different ages are often mixed during collection. While some scientists date it more broadly from the Quaternary Period (Less than 100 years to 2.5 million years ago), others specifically limit it to the Holocene Epoch (Less than 100 years to 11,700 years ago) instead.