When my daughter was young, she loved science. Her favorite show was The Magic Bus, and she devoured the small science kits I gave her for birthdays or Christmas. As she grew a little older, she became fascinated with the ‘body farm,’ where scientists study the decomposition of dead bodies under different weather and soil conditions. She even expressed the desire to go there. Fortunately, none of the facilities offer tours (not that I ever asked), and she eventually shifted her interest and now has her Ph.D. in psychology.
Although I write murder mysteries, I don’t dabble much (well, at all) in describing the various stages a body goes through as it decomposes. It’s just not my thing. Thankfully, someone else focuses on that.
The original body farm, as it became known, was the brainchild of Dr. William M. Bass. Established as the Forensic Anthropology Center at the University of Tennessee in 1987, it has grown into a leading forensic anthropology research and training facility, used by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies. Their website states that their mission “is to achieve excellence in research, training, and service in forensic anthropology and closely related fields.” They describe forensic anthropology as the “application of the principles of biological anthropology to questions of medicolegal significance.” Put in layman’s terms, the intention of a body farm is to simulate the circumstances of different crime scenes in order to study and document states of bodily decay. The goal is to help law enforcement identify the unique time and circumstances of a victim’s death.
While eight such programs exist today, Dr. Bass’ amazing program was the first of its kind to permit systematic study of human decomposition to quantify how bodies interact with the environment, meaning how they decompose under various circumstances. It has grown to include a donated Skeletal Collection that now consists of over 1800 deceased individuals, the largest collection of contemporary human skeletons in the United States, and a Forensic Data Bank (FDB) containing data on over 4080 forensic cases in the U.S. The FDB was recently expanded to include contemporary individuals from Central and South America, Europe and Asia and has been instrumental in documenting changes within human populations. Additionally, the program provides specialty courses accessible to several agencies, including the FBI, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and the Kentucky Criminalistic Academy to help them properly document, photograph, and package evidence from a crime scene.
To prove my point, to celebrate their 35th anniversary of the body donation program, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville opened up a course just for the real NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigation Services). And, no, LeRoy Jethro Gibbs didn’t show up, but Jason Keller, NCIS special agent and forensic consultant says it was a big deal for the university to hold a class just for 18 NCIS specialists. He was impressed with how much respect the staff and students paid to the donor bodies and felt that what they learned could benefit their investigations all over the country. If you’d like to see the short video, go here: https://fac.utk.edu/.
Today, operators refer to the body farms as “decomposition research facilities.” But one size does not fit all. As Amy Rattenbury forensic anthropologist and senior lecturer in forensic science at Wrexham Glyndŵr University in the U.K. says, “A general rule is that exposed bodies will decompose faster than buried bodies which are again faster than those submerged in water, but it is not so simple and multiple factors must be considered. It is also why research from one location doesn't directly translate to another."
I am constantly amazed at the lengths scientists will go to explore, discover, and learn new techniques that help humanity. The body farm is a concept that most of us would find disgusting but would feel indebted to if it played a role in teaching forensic technicians and law enforcement what they needed to know to help solve a crime against a family member or loved one. And for that, we can be very grateful.
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