Raman spectra of a range of differently aged samples of natural resins (recent resins, copals, fossils resins from Tertiary to Early Cretaceous age) were taken for a comparative study of the age‐induced maturation processes of the resins. It can be shown that a decrease in band intensity at around 1640 cm−1 due to loss of ν(CC) stretching vibrations, together with other spectral details, is correlated with the increase in age of the resins. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The fossil resin siegburgite is known from two localities in Europe: Siegburg, near Bonn, and the 'Goitsche,' near Bitterfeld, both in Germany. Raman spectroscopic data on the material proved the polystyrene character of siegburgite and therefore supported the chemical investigations conducted previously. Cinnamic acid, which was identified as a major constituent in recent resins of Liquidambar ssp. (Hamamelidaceae), was included as a standard pointing towards the origin of siegburgite in the Hamamelidaceae. The rapid and non-destructive method used permits a quick distinction of fossil resins, especially when different resin types occur together in the same deposit, as in Bitterfeld.

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