Body Farm Finds Home in Texas

by John Astad | February 13, 2008 at 09:38 am | 533 views | add comment

The Emmy Award winning CSI: Crime Scene Investigation television series is the closest many viewers get in following close up to the activities of forensic anthropologists. In real life, these scientists perfect their craft at body farms such as the one at the University of Tennessee Forensic Anthopology Facility where th FBI holds training courses. An increase in the interest of this intriguing field of study in addition to the need for more crime scene investigators has set the stage for the planned opening of another body farm at the Texas State University Forensic Resarch Facility at the 3,000 acre Freeman Ranch northwest of San Marcos, Texas.

The research center will be an approximately 5-acre open-air lab surrounded by high security fencing where forensic faculty and students will have the opportunity to study the decomposition of human bodies in a natural environment.

The path in becoming a forensic anthropologist is challenging and time consuming, which requires a Bachelors Degree in Anthropology or closely related field, then a Masters, and finally a PhD in physical anthropology. Additional training for scientists and law enforcement is ideal in a natural setting, such as a body farm .

Scientists and law enforcement officials will also be trained at the center to establish the time and nature of death when bodies are found. It will also train students to identify skeletal and dental remains. Workshops for law enforcement will include crime scene identification and cadaver dog training, among others.