Where did body farms come from?
I thought I'd use this post to tell you all about the beginnings of body farms - how on earth did someone come up with the idea? The idea was first developed by anthropologist Dr. William M. Bass. In 1977 Dr Bass was called to investigate when the civil war grave of Confederate officer Lieutenant Colonel William Shy was discovered to have been disturbed. The grave had been dug up and a headless body was found sitting on top of the antique coffin. Dr Bass forst concluded that that due to the state of the remains the body had been there less than a year. The coffin below was empty, but Dr Bass knew that after 100 years in the damp Tennessee soil, the body, includig the bones, would be expected to completely break down. Further investigation by Dr Bass, however, prooved conclusively that the remains were in fact those of Lt Col Shy. Because of this miscalculation Dr Bass realised that there was a lack of knowledge in the forensic anthropo