It is nearly impossible to avoid the numerous street vendors in San Cristóbal de las Casas offering you “authentic Chiapas amber” at a so-called special price But the vendors’ presence does raise interesting questions about what amber’s role is in the state’s history and culture amber was an important tribute and trade item in Mesoamerica for many of the same reasons as in other parts of the world its unique look and supposed magical and healing properties But it never gained the favor with the Spanish after the conquest as they were far more interested in silver and gold (both notably absent in Chiapas) and likely did not want to continue the gemstone’s pre-Catholicism’s associations the amber’s only value in Mexico was in amulets sold to indigenous mothers to keep the evil eye off their babies So some amber would continue to travel from the Simojovel in northern Chiapas to San Cristóbal as noted by travelers and writers like Franz Blom and Moisés de la Peña as late as the mid 20th century But this would change by the end of that same century Economic and political unrest in the 1970s broke up many large farms to the eventual benefit of many Simojovel families some did look to amber as an alternative form of income with their product destined for San Cristóbal It was international interest starting in the 1990s that changed Simojovel’s fortunes amber had come to the attention of mineral collectors in the U.S the American Museum of Natural History held an exhibition about amber that included pieces from Chiapas But it was 1994’s Zapatista uprising that introduced Chiapas to the world and the result was zapaturismo: foreign idealists hoping to get a glimpse of the black-masked revolutionaries — and looking for a souvenir to take home tourism and amber had grown important enough for the Chiapas government to promote both Chiapas experienced an “amber rush” as the Chinese market discovered Chiapas’ supply Demand and prices skyrocketed starting in 2012 with many gemstones making their way into beaded bracelets But it did not last: the Chinese market became saturated but amber remains an important part of Simojovel’s economy Although it can be found in a number of other municipalities such as Tapilula Simojovel remains the state’s “amber town” with most residents here dividing their economic activities between mining and agriculture Amber mining is important in this impoverished area because it does not require special equipment One person simply digs in the relatively soft dirt of the mountain But there is no guarantee that the mountain will be generous so miners often make offerings of candles and incense to increase their chances Most of what they do find makes its way to San Cristóbal more Simojovel residents are learning to obtain greater value from the resource Local artisan Elizabeth Mendoza says that when she began working the gemstone four decades ago most miners simply sold unworked or lightly worked stones mounted on cardboard artisans arose who could get better prices from polished or cut stones there are a number who will take the ancient resin all the way to a finished piece of jewelry or another final retail form Mendoza learned as a child that polished and cut amber brought more money she met a “gringo hippie” passing through who showed her how to make jewelry by twisting copper and other wire she and her husband went to Taxco and learned to work silver Working amber is physically easier than mining it and many Simojovel women are involved in this stage of the process Although the town’s amber trade has made it more open to the world and more liberal it is still not easy to be a woman in the amber business Most work the material anonymously as part of their domestic chores Chiapas’ most prominent amber artisans are still men Modern demand for Chiapas amber is driven by globalization making it difficult for local artisans to compete on price International tourism is now a mainstay of San Cristóbal’s economy The promotion of Chiapas amber has a strong international component as well the state began an amber expo in the cities of San Cristóbal and Tuxtla Gutiérrez it decided to move the annual event to Mexico City The recently concluded 2023 event hosted 168 exhibitors from various parts of the state with about 25,000 national and international attendees The rise of the amber industry has had its positives and negatives for the state amber mining is still more lucrative than subsistence farming But artisans in Simojovel and San Cristóbal still sell mostly to intermediaries instead of engaging in more lucrative retail There does not yet seem to be a Taxco-like future for Simojovel Although the only highway in the area has improved over the decades it is still a nearly four-hour trip on rough roads to get to this town tucked away in the mountains around San Cristóbal is still too difficult for any but the most adventurous of travelers Leigh Thelmadatter arrived in Mexico over 20 years ago and fell in love with the land and the culture in particular its handcrafts and art. She is the author of Mexican Cartonería: Paper, Paste and Fiesta (Schiffer 2019) Her culture column appears regularly on Mexico News Daily ADVERTISE WITH MND COMMUNITY GUIDELINES Subscription FAQ's Privacy Policy Mexico News Daily - Property of Tavana LLC Metrics details An Author Correction to this article was published on 11 February 2020 This article has been updated The aquatic and semiaquatic invertebrates in fossiliferous amber have been reported including taxa in a wide range of the subphylum Crustacea of Arthropoda no caridean shrimp has been discovered so far in the world (Palaemonidae) preserved in amber from Chiapas 22.8 Ma) represents the first and the oldest amber caridean species This finding suggests that the genus Palaemon has occupied Mexico at least since Early Miocene and a piece of residual leaf in the same amber supports the previous explanations for the Mexican amber depositional environment in the tide-influenced mangrove estuary region no record of caridean shrimp preserved in amber has been reported The shrimp in this study represents the first and oldest definite record of the Caridea species preserved in amber all over the world it enriches the inclusions biodiversity of Mexican amber and suggests the distribution of Palaemon in southeastern Mexico before Early Miocene extends our understanding on the paleontological depositional environment It is reconfirmed that the ancient environment of amber deposition in Mexico is a tidal affected mangrove estuary area Reconstruction of habitus of P. aestuarius sp. nov. (lateral view). The abbreviations represent the same morphological characteristics as the Fig. 1 Diagnosis: Rostrum without elevated basal crest dorsal margin with nine teeth including one postorbital tooth the distance between them greater than the intervals of other teeth branchiostegal groove extended longitudinally backward; branchiostegal spine sharp situated on anterior margin of cephalon; hepatic spine absent Length of non-chelate pereiopods increasing gradually from third to fifth; ischium slightly longer than the length of propodus Etymology: The specific name comes from the Latinization “estuary” where the shrimp inhabited slightly shorter than the carapace; basal crest absence faintly convex in the middle; with nine teeth tips forward; basal four teeth evenly distributed the distance between them greater than the intervals of the other teeth basal area with one long narrow spiny projection without granular process; the branchiostegal groove extended longitudinally backward; branchiostegal spine sharp The apex of third maxillipede reaching the middle area of scaphocerite about three times as long as carpus; dactylus shortest Forth pereiopod longer than the third pereiopod ischium slightly longer than the length of propodus about two times as long as carpus; dactylus shortest Fifth pereiopod longer than the forth pereiopod pleurite of the second pleomere covering the pleurites of the first and third; ventral margin of the second pleurites with a central notch 0.6 times as long as sixth abdominal segment; uropods long and narrow triangular nearly three times the length of the telson The shrimp presented in this study is the first record of caridean species preserved in amber adding an important dimension to the inclusion diversity of Mexican amber the shrimp cannot belong to the above genera we can separate it from the related genus Macrobrachium compared to its sister lineage of Pontoniinae Palaemoninae is distributed in a wide salt environment with individuals relatively thin and living freely we believe that the shrimp should belong to the Palaemon of Palaemoninae we report the first Palaemon shrimp preserved in amber which is the first trustworthy fossil Palaemon shrimp recorded in Mexico the origin of Palaemon can be traced back before the Early Cretaceous and had occupied Mexico at least since Early Miocene there was already Palaemon shrimp living in freshwater or estuarine environment which provided the possibility for further invasion to freshwater provides insight into early shrimp evolution and distribution and sheds light on rich biodiversity in Mexican amber during the Early Miocene length × width × height about 89 × 89 × 22 mm The specimen was examined with a LEICA M125 C dissecting microscope Photographs were taken using a LEICA MC 190 HD fitted to a LEICA M125 C stereomicroscope Figures were prepared in Adobe Photoshop CC and Procreate 4.3.3 An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper Carideorum catalogus: the recent species of the Dendrobranchiate Procarididean and Caridean Shrimps (Crustacea: Decapoda) Neotropical Macrobrachium (Caridea: Palaemonidae): on the biology and radiation of freshwater-invading shrimp Multiple origins of the endemic Australian Macrobrachium (Decapoda: Palaemonidae) based on 16S rRNA mitochondrial sequences Regional scale speciation reveals multiple invasions of freshwater in Palaemoninae (Decapoda) A re-appraisal of the systematic status of selected genera in Palaemoninae (Crustacea: Decapoda: Palaemonidae) The Baltic prawn Palaemon adspersus Rathke and illustrated key of the subfamily Palaemoninae in northwest Atlantic waters Global diversity of shrimps (Crustacea: Decapoda: Caridea) in freshwater WoRMS, http://www.marinespecies.org (2019) Molecular phylogeny of the genera Palaemon and Palaemonetes (Decapoda An integrative approach to the evolution of shrimps of the genus Palaemon (Decapoda Decapod Crustacean Phylogenetics (eds Martin Systematic List Of Fossil Decapod Crustacean Species (ed Palaemon antonellae new species (Crustacea Caridea) from the Lower Cretaceous “Platydolomite” of Profeti (Caserta Early Miocene amber inclusions from Mexico reveal antiquity of mangrove-associated copepods Miocene Hymenaea flowers preserved in amber from Simojovel de Allende The aquatic and semiaquatic biota in Miocene amber from the Campo LA Granja mine (Chiapas Swietenia (Meliaceae) flower in Late Oligocene Early Miocene amber from Simojovel de Allende Crabs (Brachyura: Grapsoidea: Sesarmidae) as inclusions in Lower Miocene amber from Chiapas Abundant assemblage of Ostracoda (Crustacea) in Mexican Miocene amber sheds light on the evolution of the brackish-water tribe Thalassocypridini Decapoda) from the Plattenkalk of Vesole Mount (Salerno Palaemonidae) from the late Miocene of Mondaino (Rimini Vorkommen fossiler Dekapoden (Crustacea) in Fisch-Schiefern Verzeichniss der Versteinerungen im Herzogl 1–4328): mit Angabe der Synonymen und Beschreibung vieler neuen Arten 1–474 (Nabu Press “Plattenkalk” of the Lower Cretaceous (Albian) of Petina Atti della Società italiana di Scienze naturali e del Museo civico di Storia naturale in Milano 138 Taxonomic remarks on Brazilian Cretaceous Decapoda from Araripe Basin Two new shrimps (Decapoda: Dendrobranchiata Eukyphida) from Upper Jurassic Lithographic Limestones of S Germany Caridea) from the Lower Cretaceous of Zhejiang Province A review of the systematics and zoogeography of the freshwater species of Palaemonetes Heller of North America (Crustacea Prodromus descriptionis animalium evertebratorum quae in Expeditione ad Oceanum Pacificum Septentrionalem Cadwaladore Ringgold et Johanne Rodgers Ducibus observavit et descripsit 22–47 (Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia The shrimps of the Smithsonian-Bredin Caribbean Expeditions with a summary of the West Indian shallow-water species (Crustacea: Decapoda: Natantia) On the carcinological collections of the United States and an enumeration of species contained in them Proceedings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science 3 Molecular phylogeny of the superfamily Palaemonoidea (Crustacea: Decapoda: Caridea) based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA reveals discrepancies with the current classification Neogene Crustacea from Southeastern Mexico Miocene mollusks from the Simojovel area in Chiapas Download references We sincerely thank the Paleo-diary Museum of Natural History for providing the specimen We are grateful to Hong-Liang Shi of Beijing Forestry University for making suggestions for revision to the article We appreciate to Ye Liu and Shuai Ma of the Paleo-diary Museum of Natural History for assisting in the shooting and data processing of the specimen This research is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No and also supported by the construction funds for “Double First-Class” initiative for Nankai University (96172158 Bao-Jie Du and Rui Chen contributed equally Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution wrote the paper and took morphological photographs collected data and drew the reconstructed picture All authors discussed and confirmed the final manuscript The authors declare no competing interests Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations The first amber caridean shrimp from Mexico reveals the ancient adaptation of the Palaemon to the mangrove estuary environment Download citation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-51218-5 Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: a shareable link is not currently available for this article Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science