It encompasses decomposition, post-mortem transport and burial, as well as other chemical, biological and physical activities which affect the remains of the organism. Taphonomy is the study of organic remains from the time of death to the time of discovery. The most recent is right here in Australia, on the outskirts of western Sydney. To help advance this research, several decomposition labs-colloquially known as ‘body farms’-have been developed. But the body, and its decomposition process, reveals a lot of clues that can help investigators establish key information such as a minimum time since death, the place of death and even, possibly, how the deceased met their unfortunate end. This can make the job of identifying a deceased individual-and confirming what happened to him or her-much harder. In these cases, the body may be deliberately moved, damaged, hidden, or simply not found for a period of time. But sometimes death arrives swiftly and unexpectedly due to trauma resulting from either an accident or a violent event.
If this occurs, our body will soon be whisked away by medical professionals or a funeral home to be refrigerated, stored, and prepared for disposal, typically by burial or cremation. If we can bear to think about it at all, most of us hope to die (at a ripe old age) quietly and painlessly in our own beds. 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 and why you died.
While whatever spark it was that made you ‘you’ may have gone, your body is still teeming with life both outside and within.
The old adage ‘when you’re dead, you’re dead’ might not be quite correct. This topic contains some graphic content.
0 kommentar(er)
