A body farm is a research facility where decomposition can be studied in a variety of settings. They were invented by anthropologist Dr. William Bass in 1987 at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee where Dr. Bass was interested in studying the decomposition of a human corpse from the time of death to the time of decay. The aim is to gain a better understanding of the decomposition process, permitting the development of techniques for extracting information such as the timing and circumstances of death from human remains. Body farm research is of particular interest in forensic anthropology and related disciplines, and has applications in the fields of law enforcement and forensic science. By placing the bodies outside to face the elements, researchers are able to get a better understanding of the decomposition process.
Seven such facilities exist in the United States, with the research facility operated by Texas State University at Freeman Ranch being the largest at 26 acres in area. A single body farm is also operational in Australia.
University research facilities
The seven research facilities in the United States can be found at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Western Carolina University, Texas State University, Sam Houston State University, Southern Illinois University, Colorado Mesa University and University of South Florida. These seven research facilities have been deemed "body farms" due to the nature of the decomposition research they perform. Numerous purposes exist for these research facilities, yet their main purpose is to study and form an understanding of the decompositional changes that occur with the human body. This research is then used for medical, legal and educational purposes.
Dr. Richard Janz, a director of the forensic anthropology center, advises others to look where humans look, breathe and smell by watching how humans perform different movements in everyday life. Jantz finds it important to recognize the basic structure and the necessity for the body farms facilities by emphasizing the importance of the environmental events that lead to developing timing of death and understanding of how scavengers interact with decomposition. Rick Schewien, head of the FBI office in Asheville, N.C., also finds use in the Body Farms, claiming the information from them can be used at many different levels and thus constitutes a good thing for science.
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University of Tennessee at Knoxville
The original body farm is the University of Tennessee Anthropological Research Facility located a few miles from downtown on Alcoa Highway in Knoxville, Tennessee, behind the University of Tennessee Medical Center. It was first started in late 1981 by anthropologist Dr. William M. Bass as a facility for the study of the decomposition of human remains. Dr. Bass became head of the university's anthropology department in 1971, and as official state forensic anthropologist for Tennessee he was frequently consulted in police cases involving decomposed human remains. Since no facilities existed that specifically studied decomposition, in 1972 he opened the department's first body farm.
