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The Body Farm, or the University of Tennessee Forensic Anthropology Facility, is located a few miles south of Knoxville, Tennessee, behind the University of Tennessee Medical Center, and is used for the study of forensic anthropology, human decomposition that occurs after death. The facility was founded by anthropologist Dr. William M. Bass in 1971, after he found that no such facilities existed that specifically studied decomposition.
It consists of a three acre (12,140 m²) wooded plot, surrounded by a razor wire fence. A number of bodies, originating from various sources, are scattered throughout the area. Some of the cadavers have laid unclaimed at the medical examiner's office, while over 300 people have voluntarily donated their bodies to the Body Farm. The bodies are exposed in a number of ways in order to provide insights into decomposition under varying conditions: some are left out in the open, some get buried in shallow graves or entombed in vaults, while some are even left in car trunks.
Various forensic disciplines benefit from the studies done through the Body Farm, among them law enforcement, medical examiners and crime scene investigation. The research mainly assists examiners to develop a better idea of what the actual time of death was. The Federal Bureau of Investigation holds training courses at the Body Farm, in order to expose agents to crime scene simulations where they have to dig up bodies.
Literature
The Body Farm was the inspiration for a Patricia Cornwell novel of the same name (ISBN 0425147622), and is the also subject of the nonfiction Death's Acre by Dr. William M. Bass and Jon Jefferson (ISBN 0399151346).
Television Appearances
It has also appeared in several television shows including The Dead Zone (Season 4 Episode 10) and Crime Scene Investigation (Season 2 Episode 15).
A similar forensic setup appeared in Special Victims Unit (Episode 45). Though located in New York, the "Farm" effectively duplicated the procedures used in the eponymous institution.
See also
External links
"Body Farm"