BODY FARM - PART 1Hands-On (Really On) Forensic Science
WORDS AND PHOTOS BY ALIX LAMBERT
The metal sign leaning against the tree trunk reads:
ANTHROPOLOGY RESEARCH FACILITY
STATE FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGIST
FOR INFORMATION CALL:
DR. WILLIAM BASS
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These simple words, followed by an office and a home phone number, usher one into the quiet landscape beyond it: a couple acres of nondescript, fenced-in land, and in the distance a shed, an abandoned trailer, a few trees, and some dirt paths. There are rows of green tarps covering bulky heaps on the ground. Yellow plastic sashes with CRIME SCENE written on them in black cordon off little areas here and there. On closer inspection, human skulls and assorted other bones are found strewn among the leaves, and soon it becomes clear that there are swarms of maggots doing their job on the remains. The human remains. The Anthropology Research Facility—or the Body Farm, as it has been nicknamed, much to the chagrin of its employees—is dedicated to the study of the rate of human decomposition. It’s a critical and still-emerging field of forensic science that helps to identify and lock up murderers and gives TV crime writers all their best material.
Dr. Bill Bass, the facility’s founder, has twice the energy of a man half his age and possesses a warm, welcoming demeanor—not what one might expect from someone whose life’s work is dedicated to the study of rotting corpses. But Bass is all charm and smiles. When I met with him on the facility’s grounds in Knoxville, Tennessee, surrounded on all sides by bodies in varying states of decay, he answered questions about how he came to open the research center with undisguised and fresh enthusiasm.
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See all articles by this contributor Anonymous, on Mar 8, 2009 wrote:
LULZ
Anonymous, on Mar 2, 2009 wrote:
"they are setting themselves up for disaster when the zombie apocalypse begins" | | Anonymous, on Mar 8, 2009 wrote:
Is Vice stealing ideas from old issues of BUST magazine now? | | Anonymous, on Mar 6, 2009 wrote:
my dog would have every body dug up and presented on my doorstep in a day. two, tops. | | Anonymous, on Mar 6, 2009 wrote:
that looks like a mobile phone ad. really, it’s kind of impressive that he gets coverage in the woods like that. of the 700 people there, only a couple are worried about phone calls. | |
| gnarwhal, on Mar 6, 2009 wrote:
why would they give a shit about animal bones? someone trying to track down who ran over spot? | |
| NNN, on Mar 6, 2009 wrote:
"...the university holds the single largest bone collection in the world."
Is that human bones or various species?
Great article and photographs. | | Anonymous, on Mar 5, 2009 wrote:
I saw a show about recreating faces and while it was very impressive, how do your really know if they’re accurate? The should do a side-by-side with a recently deceased person they didn’t know and then see a picture of them during life. | | Anonymous, on Mar 4, 2009 wrote:
that dog is hilarious, talk about biting the hand that feeds you. hahaha.
| | Anonymous, on Mar 4, 2009 wrote:
‘Dean, I need some land to put dead bodies on.’
There’s no beating about the bush with Dr. Bass. No sirreebob. | |
| rabies babies, on Mar 4, 2009 wrote:
you think they ever forget about someone and find them a long way down the road? they are bound to have mix-ups right? | | Anonymous, on Mar 3, 2009 wrote:
this isn’t "sick" guys, it’s what’s inside you right now. what do you think’s holding your body together and allows you to stand? it’s just bones, no big deal. if you have never had bone marrow before you are missing out. | |
| place kicker, on Mar 2, 2009 wrote:
why would it be "much to the chagrin" of the employees? "body farm" is like the coolest name ever. the farm part might be misleading. maybe "body recycling center" would be a better fit. | | Anonymous, on Mar 2, 2009 wrote:
for some reason it really bugs me that dead guy’s toe is bend back like that. if he ever woke up (unlikely, i know) that would be a bad case of sleeping leg. | | Anonymous, on Mar 2, 2009 wrote:
Didn’t this place used to be kind of hush-hush? I lived in Knoxville briefly and although I heard of the Body Farm it was somewhat of a local ghost story that no one could confirm. | | Anonymous, on Mar 2, 2009 wrote:
fucking awesome article. finally something worth reading... | | Anonymous, on Mar 2, 2009 wrote:
well i’m sure if his research helped bring to justice someone that killed a loved one you too would be extolling his virtues. | |
| aahhhhB, on Mar 2, 2009 wrote:
"the rich, beautiful colors on the man’s legs and feet"
come on now. Its rotting flesh and decay corpses- lose the flowery art talk | | Anonymous, on Mar 2, 2009 wrote:
it seems strange that everyone keeps emphasizing what a "great guy" he is...as if to try to rationalize the extreme nastiness of what he does. | | Anonymous, on Mar 2, 2009 wrote:
Dudes, I used to live in Knoxville, the amount of flies was the same all over.
I LOVE TENNESSEE | | Anonymous, on Mar 2, 2009 wrote:
They have a chapter on this in that book, "Stiff." | | Anonymous, on Mar 2, 2009 wrote:
holy shit, that hand looks like a deflated balloon. i don’t know whether to be amazed or sick. that’s an intense job. | |
| cynthia, on Mar 2, 2009 wrote:
do they get the bodies from all over? i have relatives in knoxville and i don’t think it could support that many body donations. | | Anonymous, on Mar 2, 2009 wrote:
Does anyone know how to find this place on Google satellite? | | Anonymous, on Mar 2, 2009 wrote:
i wonder what his wife thinks about all this. how do you greet your husband after a hard day at poking around on dead people? something about a hearty meal and a scotch just don’t seem appropriate. | | Anonymous, on Mar 2, 2009 wrote:
I could not bear the amount of flies that must roam the Body Farm. It’s literally a fly breeding ground. Can you picture the summer on a hot day with rotting bodies everywhere? Cool article, but no thanks. | |
| tanger, on Mar 2, 2009 wrote:
seen one although i don’t think we were really authorized to be there. we also got to see the radiology lab, which was fucking intense. | | Anonymous, on Mar 2, 2009 wrote:
Is it bad that I would totally love to have this job, not really because I’m interested in how bodies decompose. I am, but I’d like to be the person that suggests all the different ways to dispose them. I probably sound crazy, but that would be super cool I think. | |
| whitney, on Mar 2, 2009 wrote:
aww, he looks like a regular ol’ grandpa all happy on his phone. it always seems weird when normal people have such strange jobs. someone more jeffrey dahmer looking would fit better in my mind, but i guess it’s not really like that. still, he looks too normal/happy to be around dead bodies all week. | | Anonymous, on Mar 2, 2009 wrote:
how do they get the bodies? Do people specify they want their body going towards this research when they die or what? | | Anonymous, on Mar 2, 2009 wrote:
I’ve never seen a dead body before...and this really isn’t how I wanted to see one | | | Next 30 comments > |
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