


Following the outdoor research, skeletal remains are cleaned and curated in permanent known skeletal collections open for research.

This research is then used for medical, legal and educational purposes. 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. These research facilities have been deemed "body farms" due to the nature of the decomposition research they perform. The seven research facilities in the United States are all at universities (see below). In the United Kingdom, research has focused on non-human remains, mainly pigs due to their similarity to humans. The research facility operated by Texas State University at Freeman Ranch is the largest at 26 acres.(10.52 hectare) Similar facilities are also operational in Australia and Canada. Seven such facilities exist across the United States, as far south as sub-tropical Florida (USF-FORT) and as far north as Marquette, Michigan at Northern Michigan University. By placing the bodies outside to face the elements, researchers are able to get a better understanding of the decomposition process. 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. The aim was 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. Bass in 1987 at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee, where Bass was interested in studying the decomposition of a human corpse from the time of death to the time of decay. The initial facility was conceived by anthropologist William M. For other uses, see Body farm (disambiguation).Ī body farm is a research facility where decomposition of humans and other animals can be studied in a variety of settings.
