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who was training up three boys in traditional medicine knowledge in a strange place far from their home village. The medicine man found a large hollow tree. He told the boys to stay away from this tree and told two of them to go get wood. But one disobeyed and tried to cut down the tree. In response
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The Yuchi have another tale about giant lizards. They believe that a titanic battle between a giant lizard from the land and a giant lizard from the water that was so calamitous that it "shook the earth". These stories about gigantic ancient reptiles now attributed to dinosaurs may be evidence that
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sea. Hundreds of different gastropod species were preserved here. The gastropods are more diverse here than at any other fossil site in the world. Other invertebrates included and a brachiopod, thirty species of bryozoans, two genera of corals, five species of
371:. The state's coal deposits also formed from plants of this age. Local sediments were being eroded away rather than deposited during the remainder of the Paleozoic era. As such there are no rocks of that age in which fossils could have been preserved.
604:, prior to the 19th century they lived in Tennessee. The Yuchi have an annual ceremony called the Lizard Dance based on an old story about an encounter between some Yuchi people and a giant lizard. The story was set a long time ago, and featured a
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people told myths of giant lizard monsters that may have been inspired by fossils either local or encountered elsewhere. In 1920, after local fossils became a subject of formal scientific study, a significant discovery of a variety of
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fauna of
Tennessee included brachiopods, bryozoans, crinoids, and gastropods. Tennessee was still submerged into the ensuing Devonian period. During the Early Devonian, brachiopods and gastropods still lived in Tennessee.
665:. Another major event occurred in 1920. At that time fossils extracted from Pleistocene deposits near Nashville had been shipped to the Carnegie Museum. A pit excavated into the floodplain sediments east of the
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Western
Tennessee was also submerged by tropical seawater at times during the ensuing Tertiary period of the Cenozoic era. This sea was home to molluscs. A few foraminiferans from
308:. Tennessee is one of the best sources of Early Devonian fossils in North America. One survey documented at least 99 species of Early Devonian invertebrate in the state's Birdsong
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systems flowing toward the west. These rivers formed huge deltas covered in swamps. The contemporary local swamps were densely vegetated with a flora that included
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Tennessee were preserved in the state's fossil record. On land, Rivers also flowed through the state. Tennessee was variously covered in forests and swamps. Early
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987:
Picconi (2003); "Ancient
Seascapes of the Coastal Plain: Muddy, oxygen-rich environments & Silty-sandy environments preserved as gray shale", page 99.
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Among the important early fossil discoveries in
Tennessee was a possible candidate for the first known occurrence of amber discovered in the 1800s near
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to the disturbance, a gigantic lizard emerged from the hole in the tree and dragged the boy inside. That night the medicine man prepared an alluring
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concoction and set it out for the lizard. When the lizard ingested the poison it died and the Yuchi decapitated it and returned home with its head.
1127:
Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The
Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. 861 pp.
208:, Tennessee was located at the southern edge of North America, but still covered in seawater. Tennessee was covered by shallow seas during the
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life documented by
Tennessee's fossil record, a small variety of brachiopods are most common. Other life included a large variety of corals.
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Picconi, J. E. 2003. The
Teacher-Friendly Guide to the Geology of the Southeastern U.S. Paleontological Research Institution, Ithaca, NY.
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elder who interprets the monstrous lizard in the tale as a dinosaur being described in terms that would have been familiar to the Yuchi.
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to theatres the Yuchi people have replaced the phrase giant lizard with dinosaur. When the Yuchi attended the opening of the
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period. At that time western
Tennessee was once more submerged by seawater. 75 million year ago, the area around what is now
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Picconi (2003); "Ancient
Landscapes of the Inland Basins: Swamp environments preserved as dark shale or siltstone", page 94.
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were widespread on the continent, they did not extend far enough south to enter
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Picconi (2003); "Ancient Seascapes of the Inland Basins: Clear, shallow environments preserved as limestone", page 93.
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carbonates of Tennessee are very rich in fossils. In the Mississippian Tennessee was home to large
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deposited in that environment are now "world-class" sources of fossils. Ordovician
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plant remains from western Tennessee indicate that at the time the region had a
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Hunting for Fossils: A Guide to Finding and Collecting Fossils in All 50 States
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Mayor (2005); "Lizards and Dinosaurs in Yuchi Fossil Legends", pages 207-208.
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Mayor (2005); "Lizards and Dinosaurs in Yuchi Fossil Legends", page 208.
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Mayor (2005); "Lizards and Dinosaurs in Yuchi Fossil Legends", page 207.
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era, Tennessee was covered by a warm, shallow sea. This sea was home to
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Weishampel, et al. (2004); "3.32 Tennessee, United States", page 587.
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conditions prevailed in Tennessee during the later part of the
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Tennessee Division of Geology: Welcome to the Gray Fossil Site
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uncovered a deer antler, the lower left molar from the horse
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were preserved in Rutherford and Smith Counties. Ordovician
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were preserved in Rutherford and Smith Counties. Ordovician
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were preserved in Rutherford and Smith Counties. Ordovician
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Springer and Scotchmoor (2003); "Paleontology and geology".
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was preserved in Rutherford and Smith Counties. Ordovician
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also inhabited these waters. On land the state was home to
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research occurring within or conducted by people from the
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environment, home to a rich variety of plants including
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The sea remained in place during the early part of the
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Paleontological research in the U.S. state of Tennessee
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Silurian Tennessee remained covered by seawater. The
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lived in Tennessee during the Ordovician. Ordovician
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Springer, Dale, Judy Scotchmoor. October 29, 2003. "
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256:were preserved in Rutherford County. Ordovician
240:were preserved in Rutherford County. Ordovician
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681:. Higher in the deposits excavators turned up
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8:
400:, 120 species of pelecypod, four species of
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260:were preserved in Smith County. Ordovician
252:were preserved in Smith County. Ordovician
248:were preserved in Smith County. Ordovician
69:. Tennessee is one of the best sources of
1491:Paleontology in the United States by state
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730:Middle Tennessee Museum of Natural History
653:as the giant lizard of their traditions.
625:Yuchi medicine men once encountered the
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562:. All these left their remains in the
1081:Fossil Legends of the First Americans
284:were preserved in Rutherford County.
276:were preserved in Rutherford County.
7:
1083:. Princeton University Press. 2005.
1501:Science and technology in Tennessee
739:Pink Palace Museum and Planetarium
685:bones, a molar left by a juvenile
485:climate similar to that of modern
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1192:Paleontology in the United States
355:epoch Tennessee was home to vast
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45:. During the early part of the
1124:. Accessed September 21, 2012.
1099:. Collier Books. p. 348.
629:fossils preserved west of the
448:. Among them were duck-billed
379:The early part of the ensuing
1:
1040:; "Tennessee", pages 262-263.
1004:; "Tennessee", pages 264-265.
932:; "Tennessee", pages 261-262.
136:, when the state was home to
1496:Natural history of Tennessee
391:was just off the coast of a
1146:Geologic units in Tennessee
800:Paleontology in Mississippi
637:. Following the release of
412:. Vertebrate life included
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695:fossils, a molar from the
579:Indigenous interpretations
493:. Local wildlife included
80:. During the mid-to-late
1486:Paleontology in Tennessee
1025:Picconi (2003); page 100.
31:Paleontology in Tennessee
961:; "Tennessee", page 264.
944:; "Tennessee", page 263.
920:; "Tennessee", page 260.
871:; "Tennessee", page 262.
810:Paleontology in Virginia
805:Paleontology in Missouri
795:Paleontology in Kentucky
785:Paleontology in Arkansas
167:creatures was made near
1122:The Paleontology Portal
1095:Murray, Marian (1974).
790:Paleontology in Georgia
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708:Natural history museums
180:Pterotrigonia thoracica
1151:Paleoportal: Tennessee
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96:. A gap in the local
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408:, and two genera of
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657:Scientific research
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464:
378:
327:period. The
322:
286:
199:
185:state fossil
178:
158:. The local
137:
104:through the
30:
29:
1321:Mississippi
1236:Connecticut
617:is a Yuchi-
418:sea turtles
398:crustaceans
365:scale trees
335:, abundant
306:tetracorals
246:crustaceans
238:cephalopods
230:brachiopods
202:Precambrian
200:During the
165:Pleistocene
122:sea turtles
98:rock record
94:scale trees
59:cephalopods
51:brachiopods
1480:Categories
1436:Washington
1356:New Mexico
1351:New Jersey
1226:California
1074:References
627:Cretaceous
564:floodplain
511:Quaternary
499:Red pandas
495:alligators
450:hadrosaurs
389:Coon Creek
385:Cretaceous
361:horsetails
304:, and two
282:trilobites
266:pelecypods
258:hydrozoans
254:gastropods
222:Rutherford
210:Ordovician
191:Prehistory
173:Cretaceous
114:gastropods
110:Cretaceous
67:trilobites
39:U.S. state
33:refers to
1446:Wisconsin
1411:Tennessee
1316:Minnesota
1291:Louisiana
816:Footnotes
718:Knoxville
633:while on
611:poisonous
547:mastodons
503:elephants
446:dinosaurs
438:Henderson
414:mosasaurs
402:scaphopod
337:conodonts
302:favosites
262:ostracods
234:bryozoans
206:Paleozoic
196:Paleozoic
169:Nashville
152:mastodons
126:dinosaurs
118:Mosasaurs
55:bryozoans
47:Paleozoic
43:Tennessee
1431:Virginia
1381:Oklahoma
1361:New York
1336:Nebraska
1326:Missouri
1311:Michigan
1301:Maryland
1286:Kentucky
1266:Illinois
1241:Delaware
1231:Colorado
1221:Arkansas
749:See also
692:Camelops
687:mastodon
663:Savannah
602:Oklahoma
523:Camelops
515:glaciers
483:tropical
479:Tertiary
466:Camelops
456:Cenozoic
406:starfish
381:Mesozoic
375:Mesozoic
316:. Among
314:New York
289:Silurian
274:starfish
250:cystoids
148:mammoths
139:Camelops
130:Cenozoic
106:Jurassic
1451:Wyoming
1426:Vermont
1331:Montana
1271:Indiana
1251:Georgia
1246:Florida
1216:Arizona
1206:Alabama
743:Memphis
619:Shawnee
574:History
560:turtles
487:Central
434:McNairy
294:Decatur
270:sponges
176:bivalve
134:Ice Age
102:Permian
74:fossils
1386:Oregon
1341:Nevada
1281:Kansas
1256:Hawaii
1211:Alaska
1199:States
1131:
1103:
1087:
683:turtle
558:, and
549:, the
530:, the
507:tapirs
505:, and
475:Eocene
440:, and
430:Hardin
345:Swampy
341:plants
339:, and
298:Benton
171:. The
154:, and
144:horses
86:swampy
65:, and
63:corals
1416:Texas
1296:Maine
1261:Idaho
598:Yuchi
532:horse
519:camel
410:worms
357:river
310:shale
242:coral
218:algae
160:Yuchi
90:ferns
1421:Utah
1376:Ohio
1276:Iowa
1129:ISBN
1101:ISBN
1085:ISBN
724:Gray
528:deer
422:fish
363:and
333:fish
296:and
224:and
120:and
92:and
1120:."
489:or
76:in
41:of
1482::
1030:^
1018:^
992:^
978:^
966:^
949:^
888:^
876:^
857:^
823:^
741:,
732:,
716:,
704:.
689:,
570:.
545:,
526:,
501:,
497:,
452:.
436:,
432:,
424:.
416:,
343:.
187:.
150:,
146:,
142:,
61:,
57:,
53:,
1184:e
1177:t
1170:v
1135:.
1109:.
1091:.
726:,
592:.
469:.
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