The Body Farm Research Paper

The Reaper is a Creeper

The definition of death is the termination of life. The mythical character named death which acts as a personification of the taker of life and souls. It is usually represented as a walking skeleton with a mysterious black cloak, holding a scythe. He is also known as the Grim Reaper. Does this make death scary? Walking upon a dead decomposing body is like spending the night in a haunted house. At first there is speculation but eventually your stomach ties in knots. In seconds the smell hits you like a ton of bricks smashing your nose, legs gradually weaken, your eyes start to water, electrical charges run down you spine, you heart pounds like a jack hammer. Lying in the position from the victim's last breath of
air, maggots crawl about. Lifeless as a rock, clothes stained with blood and other bodily fluids, this site is as horrifying as a head on collision with a eighteen wheel semi truck. From the moment of death flies are attracted to the body. It's the smell that brings them around, like routing garbage. Insects then begin to lay eggs around wounds and natural body openings, which eventually hatch and move into the body. This is when you find maggots. Later in the process, bacteria break down the tissues and cells releasing different fluids into the body cavities. Foul smelling gases start to linger into the air. The smell is like week old baby vomit, covered in burnt hair. The next stage the body eventually collapses leaving a flattened corpse with flesh turning into creamy consistency. Like a melting rubber or a couple gallons of jello pudding. At the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, there is a team of forensic anthropologist that study death everyday. This team practices solely on the decomposition rate of the human body. This spooky yet educational establishment is called the Body Farm. The body farm was the idea of Dr. Bass in 1977 when he was called upon to examine a body that was discovered in a historic cemetery outside of Nashville. He estimated the individual was dead six to twelve months. With closer experiments, he was wrong by 112 years. The body was preserved in a cast-iron, airtight casket. The body farm is roughly three acres of land with more than 200 bodies placed inside. This institute is used to aid law enforcement agencies in determining how the body decays after death. Bodies are placed in as many situations as possible resembling a crime scene. Cadavers are dressed in different outfits, submerged in water to act as a drowning victim, or victims of arson. All evidence is collected to determine how the body decays in that particular situation.
Not all of the residents of Knoxville are pleased that the Body Farm exists. A group called Solutions to Issues of Concern to Knoxvillians protested outside the area with signs that read, "This Makes me SICK!!!" Dr. Bass had a large fence installed and the protests ended. The security fence that was installed after the protests also is protected with a chain link fence that has razor wire atop the structure. These razor blades face in every direction, a tiny insect could not pass through without getting a clean shave. This wire prevents unauthorized people from entering the Body Farm. For example, two second-year law students tried to climb the fence. They did not get inside the Body Farm but were injured by the razor wire. The students required many stitches after the attempt to break in for a little fun.
The Body Farm receives the cadavers from three sources; the unclaimed dead are often donated to save Tennessee the cost of a $700 burial.
The second category is those cadavers that are donated by their families because they wanted to be donated to science but did not fill out the proper paperwork. The last group is those who plan ahead and have special permission to have their body donated to the Body Farm when they die. Walking through the farm gives you a strange feeling inside. Knowing you are surrounded by death, Goosebumps pop out of your body. Lying in the brush is a body that was stabbed several times with a large sharp object. This cadaver will be examined everyday for roughly 6-8 months. One corpse that was in the burn category made my bones shiver. This cadaver was burned alive in the trunk of a car. So the University had the police bring the entire crime scene to the body farm. The skin reminded me of chicken left on the grill to long. If it wasn't for forensic anthropologist researchers, and their strong stomachs, many criminals would be walking free today. This line of work is helpful in many ways in today's society. The questions that might be asked include: Was this individual male or female? How old were they when they died? How tall were they? Were the people studied in good or poor general health? Forensic anthropology involves the application of these same methods to modern cases of unidentified human remains. Through the established methods, a forensic anthropologist can aid law enforcement in establishing a profile on the unidentified remains. The profile includes sex, age, ethnicity, height, length of time since death, and sometimes the evaluation of trauma seen on
bones. Why would anyone want to pursue a career dealing with so many unpleasant feelings, sights, and smells? Maybe they get the feeling like one gets from a first time roller coaster ride. Adrenaline is the ultimate drug! The body farm is exactly what you think it is. It is an area with lots of dead human remains. Unlike a cemetery where people remain 6 feet underground, everyone here is right before your eyes, and it's not a pretty sight.