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Copal
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<h2 id="etymology">Etymology</h2> <p>The word "copal" is derived from the <a href="/facts/Nahuatl_language/MTVHtb8U">Nahuatl language</a> word <i>copalli</i>, meaning "incense". </p> <h2 id="history-and-uses">History and uses</h2> <p>Subfossil copal is well known from <a href="/facts/New_Zealand/4mpSlJdg">New Zealand</a> (<a href="/facts/Kauri_gum/wfocpxSs">kauri gum</a> from <i><a href="/facts/Agathis_australis/eTLWjSWp">Agathis australis</a></i> (<a href="/facts/Araucariaceae/Rn6BKUbo">Araucariaceae</a>)), <a href="/facts/Japan/U5mz0SRT">Japan</a>, the <a href="/facts/Dominican_Republic/u36V3Nsb">Dominican Republic</a>, <a href="/facts/Colombia/nl7r8Q2u">Colombia</a>, and <a href="/facts/Madagascar/ez12IAcY">Madagascar</a>. It often has inclusions and is sometimes sold as "young amber". When it is treated or enhanced in an <a href="/facts/Autoclave/bg1J3cXJ">autoclave</a> (as is sometimes done to industrialized Baltic amber<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a>) it is used for jewelry. In its natural condition copal can be easily distinguished from old amber by its lighter citrine colour and its surface getting tacky with a drop of <a href="/facts/Acetone/cVyJxKqw">acetone</a> or <a href="/facts/Chloroform/gvzuJMXa">chloroform</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> Copal resin from <i><a href="/facts/Hymenaea_verrucosa/k3vLhRPh">Hymenaea verrucosa</a></i> (<a href="/facts/Fabaceae/uxuHNdAr">Fabaceae</a>) is found in <a href="/facts/East_Africa/WtsAyphI">East Africa</a> and is used in incense. East Africa apparently had a higher amount of <a href="/facts/Subfossil/SJpdD4Fd">subfossil</a> copal, which is found one or two meters below living copal trees, from roots of trees that may have lived thousands of years earlier. This subfossil copal produces a harder varnish. </p><p>By the 18th century, Europeans found it to be a valuable ingredient in making a good wood <a href="/facts/Varnish/sK905uXj">varnish</a>. It became widely used in the manufacture of furniture and carriages. It was also sometimes used as a picture varnish.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> By the late 19th and early 20th century, varnish manufacturers in England and America were using it on train carriages, greatly swelling its demand. In 1859, Americans consumed 68% of the East African trade, which was controlled through the Sultan of <a href="/facts/Zanzibar/Nj7CFq9B">Zanzibar</a>, with Germany receiving 24%. The <a href="/facts/American_Civil_War/A9FT3ksD">American Civil War</a> and the creation of the <a href="/facts/Suez_Canal/1zYoNryp">Suez Canal</a> led to Germany, India, and Hong Kong taking the majority by the end of that century.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> </p><p>Copal is still used by a number of <a href="/facts/Indigenous_peoples_of_Mexico/ChgUdWdQ">indigenous peoples of Mexico</a> and <a href="/facts/Central_America/CXKgTuxC">Central America</a> as an incense, during <a href="/facts/Sweat_lodge/Ue7aDkFB">sweat lodge</a> ceremonies and sacred mushroom ceremonies.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> </p> <h3>Sources</h3> <ul><li>Grimaldi, David (1996). <i>Amber: Window to the Past</i>. American Museum of Natural History.</li> <li>Hoffeins, Christel (1 June 2012). <a href="https://doi.org/10.2478%2Fv10200-012-0005-z">"On Baltic amber inclusions treated in an autoclave"</a>. <i>Polish Journal of Entomology / Polskie Pismo Entomologiczne</i>. 81 (2): 165–183. <a href="/facts/Doi_(identifier)/muM9Etpq">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.2478%2Fv10200-012-0005-z">10.2478/v10200-012-0005-z</a>.</li> <li>Mayer, Ralph (1976). <i>The Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques</i>. New York: Viking.</li> <li>Platt, Gary (6 June 1998). <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20100225225107/http://www.gplatt.demon.co.uk/typesof.htm">"Types of Amber, Copal & Resin"</a>. Archived from <a href="http://www.gplatt.demon.co.uk/typesof.htm">the original</a> on 25 February 2010.</li> <li>Stross, Brian (1997). <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150212150136/http://www.utexas.edu/courses/stross/papers/copal.htm">"Mesoamerican Copal Resins"</a>. <i>U Mut Maya</i>. 6: 177–186. Archived from <a href="http://www.utexas.edu/courses/stross/papers/copal.htm">the original</a> on 12 February 2015 – via University of Texas at Austin.</li> <li>Sunseri, Thaddeus (2009). <i>Wielding the Ax: State Forestry and Social Conflict in Tanzania, 1820-2000</i>.</li></ul> <h2 id="further-reading">Further reading</h2> <ul><li><a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Copal">"Copal" </a>. <i><a href="/facts/Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica_Eleventh_Edition/mPElbCRY">Encyclopædia Britannica</a></i>. Vol. 7 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 94.</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Stross (1997). - Stross, Brian (1997). "Mesoamerican Copal Resins". U Mut Maya. 6: 177–186. Archived from the original on 12 February 2015 – via University of Texas at Austin. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150212150136/http://www.utexas.edu/courses/stross/papers/copal.htm" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20150212150136/http://www.utexas.edu/courses/stross/papers/copal.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Platt (1998). - Platt, Gary (6 June 1998). "Types of Amber, Copal & Resin". Archived from the original on 25 February 2010. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20100225225107/http://www.gplatt.demon.co.uk/typesof.htm" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20100225225107/http://www.gplatt.demon.co.uk/typesof.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Hoffeins (2012). - Hoffeins, Christel (1 June 2012). "On Baltic amber inclusions treated in an autoclave". Polish Journal of Entomology / Polskie Pismo Entomologiczne. 81 (2): 165–183. doi:10.2478/v10200-012-0005-z. <a href="https://doi.org/10.2478%2Fv10200-012-0005-z" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.2478%2Fv10200-012-0005-z</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Grimaldi (1996), pp. 16–20. - Grimaldi, David (1996). Amber: Window to the Past. American Museum of Natural History. <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Mayer (1976), pp. 194–196. - Mayer, Ralph (1976). The Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques. New York: Viking. <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Sunseri (2009), pp. 10–12. - Sunseri, Thaddeus (2009). Wielding the Ax: State Forestry and Social Conflict in Tanzania, 1820-2000. <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Stross (1997). - Stross, Brian (1997). "Mesoamerican Copal Resins". U Mut Maya. 6: 177–186. Archived from the original on 12 February 2015 – via University of Texas at Austin. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150212150136/http://www.utexas.edu/courses/stross/papers/copal.htm" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20150212150136/http://www.utexas.edu/courses/stross/papers/copal.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>