The Farm Where Death Lightened the Facts: Body Farm

Year 2021, Volume: 30 Issue: 3, 144 - 149, 30.09.2021

Toygün Anıl Özesen Kenan Kaya Ziyaettin Erdem

https://doi.org/10.17827/aktd.908157

Abstract

TTaphonomy is the science that studies the burial process of living things. The first human taphonomy facility was developed in 1971 by Forensic Anthropologist Dr. William Bass at the University of Tennessee. In addition to better understanding the stages of the human corpse according to various situations, the facilities established for this purpose are also used for the training of law enforcement officers, the development of crime scene techniques and the realization of cadaver dog training. Many experiments related to the corpse and environment are carried out in these research centers and many data about possible situations can be obtained and more realistic inferences and more objective results can be obtained, as a result of which crime scene investigation, autopsy and detection methods are developed. Taphonomy Research Centers provide a controlled examination of the posthumous stages of corpses. In addition, it enables the determination of what changes will occur in the corpse as a result of exposure to various environmental factors, and how long it will be able to benefit from the biological samples to be taken. Rational results can be obtained due to its ability to provide a controlled experiment. Thanks to the data obtained, the development of new crime scene investigation training and techniques also enables the training of cadaver dogs. Since such centers are a constant source of information for scientific research and development, we believe that they should become more widespread.
Keywords: Postmortem changes; biodegradation; autopsy; crime victims

Keywords

Postmortem Changes, Biodegradation, Autopsy, Crime Victims

Ölümün Gerçekleri Aydınlattığı Çiftlik: Vücut Çiftliği

Abstract

Tafonomi, canlıların gömülme sürecini inceleyen bilim dalıdır. İlk insan tafonomi tesisi 1971’de Tennessee Üniversitesinde Adli Antropolog Dr. William Bass tarafından geliştirilmiştir. İnsan cesedinin çeşitli durumlara göre geçirdiği aşamaları daha iyi anlamanın yanı sıra bu amaçla kurulan tesisler, kolluk kuvvetlerinin eğitimi, olay yeri tekniklerinin geliştirilmesi ve kadavra köpek eğitimlerinin gerçekleştirilmesi amacıyla da kullanılmaktadır. Ceset ve ortam ilişkili birçok deney bu araştırma merkezlerinde yapılarak muhtemel durumlarla ilgili birçok veri elde edilerek daha gerçekçi çıkarımlar ve daha objektif sonuçlar elde edilebilmekte bunların sonucunda da olay yeri inceleme, otopsi, tespit yöntemleri geliştirilmektedir. Tafonomi Araştırma Merkezleri, kontrollü bir şekilde ölüm sonrası cesetlerin geçirdiği aşamaların incelenmesini sağlamaktadır. Ayrıca cesette, değişik çevresel etkenlere maruziyet sonucunda ne gibi değişiklikler olacağını, alınacak biyolojik örneklerden ne kadar süre yararlanabileceğinin belirlenmesini sağlamaktadır. Kontrollü deney imkanı sağlayabilmesi nedeniyle rasyonel sonuçlar elde edilebilmektedir. Elde edilen veriler sayesinde yeni olay yeri inceleme eğitim ve tekniklerinin geliştirilmesi ayrıca kadavra köpeklerinin eğitilmesine olanak sağlamaktadır. Bu gibi merkezler bilimsel araştırma ve geliştirme için sürekli bir bilgi kaynağı niteliği taşıdıklarından daha da yaygınlaşmaları gerektiği kanaatindeyiz.

Keywords

Postmortem Değişiklikler, Biyoyıkım, Otopsi, Cinayet Kurbanları

References

• Kaynakça 1. Behrensmeyer AK, Kidwell SM. Taphonomy’s Contributions to Paleobiology. Paleobiology. 1985;11: 105–119.
• 2. Cornwell PD. The Body Farm. Berkley Books; 2004.
• 3. Opal JM. Beyond the Farm. 2008. doi:10.9783/9780812203455.
• 4. Hart K. “Human Taphonomy Facility” Aka “The Body Farm.” Journal of Forensic Sciences & Criminal Investigation. 2017. doi:10.19080/jfsci.2017.05.555662.
• 5. Efremov JA. Taphomony: a new branch of geology. Pan-Am Geologist. 1940;74: 81–93.
• 6. Lyman RL. Archaeofaunas and butchery studies: a taphonomic perspective. Advances in archaeological method and theory. 1987; 249–337.
• 7. Gümrükçü M. Tafonominin tarihçesi ve tafonomik araştırmaların paleoantropolojideki önemi. Antropoloji. 2018;35:83–92. 8. Blau S. Body farms. Forensic Sci Med Pathol. 2017;13: 484–486.
• 9. Overstreet D. Vertebrate Taphonomy. R. Lee Lyman, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Manuals in Archaeology, 1994. ISBN 0-521-452155 (hardback), 0-521-45804 (paperback). Int J Osteoarchaeol. 1995;5: 394–395.
• 10. Byard RW. Body farms – characteristics and contributions. Forensic Sci Med Pathol. 2017;13: 473–474.
• 11. Bass WM. Outdoor decomposition rates in Tennessee. Forensic taphonomy: the postmortem fate of human remains. 1997; 181–186.
• 12. Meadows L, Jantz RL. Allometric secular change in the long bones from the 1800s to the present. J Forensic Sci. 1995;40: 762–767.
• 13. Ousley SD, Jantz RL. The forensic data bank: documenting skeletal trends in the United States. Forensic osteology: advances in the identification of human remains. 1998;2: 441–458.
• 14. Jantz LM, Jantz RL. Secular change in long bone length and proportion in the United States, 1800-1970. Am J Phys Anthropol. 1999;110: 57–67.
• 15. Shirley NR, Wilson RJ, Jantz LM. Cadaver use at the University of Tennessee’s Anthropological Research Facility. Clin Anat. 2011;24: 372–380.
• 16. Vass A, Barshick S, Sega G, Caton J, Skeen J, Love J, et al. Decomposition Chemistry of Human Remains: A New Methodology for Determining the Postmortem Interval. Journal of Forensic Sciences. 2002. doi:10.1520/jfs15294j.
• 17. Coe JI. Postmortem chemistry update. Emphasis on forensic application. Am J Forensic Med Pathol. 1993;14: 91–117.
• 18. Marks MK, Love JC, Dadour I. Taphonomy and time: estimating the postmortem interval. Hard evidence: case studies in forensic anthropology. Pearson Education; 2009. pp. 165–178.
• 19. Marks MK, Love JC, Elkins SK. Time since death: A practical guide to physical postmortem events. Proceedings of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences Reno, NV p. 2000; 181–182.
• 20. Rodriguez WC 3rd, Bass WM. Decomposition of buried bodies and methods that may aid in their location. J Forensic Sci. 1985;30: 836–852.
• 21. Vass AA, Bass WM, Wolt JD, Foss JE, Ammons JT. Time Since Death Determinations of Human Cadavers Using Soil Solution. Journal of Forensic Sciences. 1992. p. 13311J. doi:10.1520/jfs13311j.
• 22. Vass AA. Dust to dust: How a human body decomposes. Sci Am. 2010;303: 56–59.
• 23. Mann RW, Bass WM, Meadows L. Time since death and decomposition of the human body: variables and observations in case and experimental field studies. J Forensic Sci. 1990;35: 103–111.
• 24. Ritchie GT. A Comparison of Human Decomposition in an Indoor and an Outdoor Environment. University of Tennessee, Knoxville. 2005. Available: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/2292/.
• 25. Srnka C. The Effects of Sun and Shade on the Early Stages of Human Decomposition. University of Tennessee, Knoxville. 2003. Available: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/1814/.
• 26. Wilson-Taylor RJ, Dautartas AM. Time since death estimation and bone weathering, the post mortem interval. Forensic anthropology: a. 2017. .