There are a lot of fossils in Tennessee, but if you start collecting, one of the first things you will notice is that what you find depends on where you look

Let's take a look.

Three of the best sites for finding fossils in Tennessee are:  Davidson County, Decatur County, and McNairy County.  These are the commonest fossils found in those three sites.  Since I am collecting boxes for teachers, my selection principle is "Can I find twenty-five of these in a reasonable period of time?"

How do the fossils differ?

Why don't we find the same fossils everywhere?

Are all of these fossils recent, or are some of them much older?

Compare the fossils from the  three sites.

• How is the appearance of the fossils in the three groups similar?  How can you explain similarities and differences.

• Which site has fossils which look most like modern shells?  How can you explain this?

• What phyla are found in each site?   How can you explain similarities and differences.

• Which site has phyla which look most like those you would find on a modern beach?  How can you explain this?

• What evidence is there that all of these fossils are recent?  What evidence is there that they come from different times?