system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: What exactly is amber and how did/does it trap specimens of animals or animal parts?
gpt
Amber is fossilized tree resin. Small creatures, plants and animals can get caught in the resin (it's very sticky) as its excreted. They get completely enveloped and preserved. The resin dries and hardens, and gets buried. Over a very long amount of time, the heat and pressure of layers of sediment accumulating causes it to turn into amber.