The Untold Truth Of Body Farms

May 2024 ยท 2 minute read

In addition to human remains, some body farms also use the remains of pigs, which were typically used before human remains when decomposition was initially being studied. In some places, pig remains have been used to study decomposition for decades.

Just like the human remains, the pig remains are left in a variety of positions and coverings in order to observe the different rates of decomposition. Sometimes, they're even dressed up in clothing. And apparently, a 100-pound pig is "the best proxy for human decompositions," according to Particle.

Pig remains have also been used to study decomposition under water. Popular Science writes that underwater decomposition is still largely a mystery, and in Florida, researchers have been experimenting with lowering pig remains to the seafloor "to film them as they decay." And turns out, depending on whether the remains end up in salt or freshwater, decomposition can vary wildly. "In some of my experiments we've had pig carcasses...last months and months with almost no change whatsoever, and in some cases they've been skeletonized in three days," reports forensic entomologist Gail Anderson. 

Inverse reports that pig remains also were used to prove the hypothesis that the remains of children decompose more quickly than those of adults. Researchers also found that "soil moisture was a dominant factor in the overall rate of decomposition."

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