Taphonomy: not for the squeamish

The old adage ‘when you’re dead, you’re dead’ might not be quite correct. While whatever spark it was that made you ‘you’ may have gone, your body is still teeming with life both outside and within. Bacteria, fungi, parasites—they are all living and thriving off your death, and they can tell researchers and forensic investigators a lot about how, when, where and why you died.

Taphonomy is the study of organic remains from the time of death to the time of discovery. It encompasses decomposition, post-mortem transport and burial, as well as other chemical, biological and physical activities which affect the remains of the organism. Needless to say, it’s a specialised field whose researchers need strong stomachs and a desire to help the living.

Opened in 2016, the Australian Facility for Taphonomic Experimental Research (AFTER) is Australia’s first ‘body farm’.

Here, scientists study how the human body deteriorates in our country’s unique climatic conditions, including how different circumstances—whether the body is in the sun or shade, buried or on the surface, clothed or unclothed—may affect the decomposition process, and how the smell of decay changes over time. All of the bodies at the body farm have been specifically donated to the facility for use in medical research.

The facility is used by a variety of scientists including entomologists, anthropologists, biologists and chemists. Additionally, researchers and industry professionals from universities, forensic services, police and other scientific organisations visit the facility on a regular basis to study the corpses and record in detail any changes.

As much as we might like to ignore it, death and what happens afterwards are undeniable facts of life. All living things die, so it makes sense to try to better understand the various processes involved.

The data collected from the AFTER facility is providing validated scientific methods and results that can be used by police and forensic investigators in their work. Because each death scene is unique—both in terms of the body (including its size, age and trauma suffered) and the circumstances in which it is placed (such as the environment, weather, clothing and position)—the science is complex and, as a result, not infallible.

However, by improving our knowledge of the human decomposition process, and how it is affected by and affects the flora and fauna around it, we may be able to help answer questions that can then benefit the living.