Nearly 50 years ago, the Body Farm began with one body, a small plot of land, and a novel idea.
Today, the University of Tennessee Anthropological Research Facility consists of a 2.5-acre wooded plot and instead of just one body, approximately forty bodies are studied at the same time in different scenarios.
Founded by anthropologist William M. Bass, the Anthropological Research Facility is the world’s largest Body Farm, aimed to better understanding the process of decomposition, mainly to assist in criminal investigations.
Originally appearing in True Crime Magazine’s Behind the Tape Photobook, this uncensored photo gallery offers exclusive access into the world’s most fascinating research facility!
Forensic anthropologist, William Bass, checks on the progress of a decaying body at the University of Tennessee’s Forensic Anthropology Center known as the Body Farm. (Credit: Getty Images)
Forensic anthropologist, William Bass, investigating remains in a car at the University of Tennessee’s Forensic Anthropology Center known as the Body Farm. (Credit: Getty Images)
A decaying body at the University of Tennessee’s Anthropological Research Facility. (Credit: Getty Images)
A decaying body at the University of Tennessee’s Anthropological Research Facility. (Credit: Getty Images)
A decaying body at the University of Tennessee’s Anthropological Research Facility. (Credit: Getty Images)
Bodies decay in a water trough, at the University of Tennessee’s Anthropological Research Facility known as the The Body Farm. (Credit: Getty Images)
A decaying body at the University of Tennessee’s Anthropological Research Facility. (Credit: Getty Images)
Dr. Danny Wescott measures a bone. (Credit: Getty Images)
Dr. Danny Wescott stands next to the bodies. (Credit: Getty Images)
Dr. Richard Jantz, Director of the University of Tennessee Anthropological Research Facility known as the The Body Farm, stands near a decaying body. (Credit: Getty Images)
Cadet Ariel Loera looks at a decomposing body at the Body Farm, which he visited with his cadet class in 2017.
Skeletons from the University of Tennessee’s Anthropology Research Facility, commonly called “The Body Farm,” are stored in specially designed boxes and then placed on floor-to-ceiling, electronically controlled shelves in the Bass Donated Skeletal Collection at UT’s Strong Hall.
Lee Meadows Jantz, associate director of UT’s Forensic Anthropology Center, pulls out a specially designed box containing a skeleton stored at the Bass Donated Skeletal Collection on Oct. 23, 2018.
Researchers and scientists come to UT’s Bass Donated Skeletal Collection to study what the bones tell them.
Lee Meadows Jantz, associate director of UT’s Forensic Anthropology Center, holds a box containing the skeleton of an infant stored at the university’s Bass Donated Skeletal Collection.
Cremated remains are stored at UT’s Bass Donated Skeletal Collection. Researchers and scientists come to the collection to study what the bones tell them.
FBI Evidence Response Team members receive training each year at the Forensic Anthropology Center in Knoxville, Tennessee. Training this month marks 20 years for the unique partnership. (Credit: FBI)
An aerial view of the Body Farm showing bodies in cages. (Daniel Wescott)
A skeleton that’s been picked over by vultures.
A pair of shoes that belonged to a deceased migrant, cataloged at the Body Farm.
A badly decayed body at the Body Farm.
A badly decayed body at the Body Farm.
Leave a Comment