A body farm is a research facility where decomposition of humans and animals can be studied in a variety of settings. The initial facility was conceived by anthropologist William M. Bass in 1981 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.[1][2] 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. 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. 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. By placing the bodies outside to face the elements, researchers are able to get a better understanding of the decomposition process.[3] This research is then used for medical, legal and educational purposes.[4] Following the outdoor research, skeletal remains are cleaned and curated in permanent known skeletal collections open for research. Such collections are critical for testing and developing new identification methods.
Eight 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.[5] The research facility operated by Texas State University at Freeman Ranch is the largest at 26 acres (10.52 hectares).[6] Similar facilities are also operational in Australia and Canada. In the United Kingdom, research has focused on non-human remains, mainly pigs due to their similarity to humans.