Nudged by turbulent magma far underground, the our planet's crust slowly tore apart and fused together into new shapes. Continents jammed together to create mountain ranges, and then ripped asunder to create ocean floors paved with lava upwelling from the Earth’s heart. These continental plates would one day play an important role in the formation of Tennessee.

Multicellular animals probably appeared 1000 million years ago (MYA), but creatures large enough to leave physical remains did not appear until about 635 MYA -- the beginning of the fossil record.