Varieties of cretaceous fossil resins of the Caucasus and features of their molecular structure

Martirosyan О. V., Bogdasarov M. A.

Zapiski RMO (Proceedings of the Russian Mineralogical Society). 2022. V. 151. N 1. P. 92-104

https://doi.org/10.31857/S0869605521060058

Language: Russian

Abstract

The study has been focused upon the molecular structure of fossil resins of Transcaucasus region. Analysis of data obtained by infrared spectroscopy shows that resins of this region are represented by different families and species differing significantly in their structures. Resins from Ani (Ajakend) and Koti (Shavarshvan) occurrences are represented by brittle resins – retinite and valchovite, and resins from the Aytag (Gorchu) occurrence are represented by retinite and rumenite-like resin. The revealed differences prove the S.S. Savkevich concept that to use the term “copal” in relation to the Transcaucasian resins will be wrong.

Keywords: fossil resins, copal, rumenite, retinite, walhovite, Transcaucasia, Cretaceous deposits, IR spectroscopy