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Revolution in death sciences: body farms and taphonomics blooming. A review investigating the advantages, ethical and legal aspects in a Swiss context

International Journal of Legal Medicine volume 134, pages 1875–1895 (2020)Cite this article

Abstract

Taphonomy is the study of decaying organisms over time and their process of fossilization. Taphonomy, originally a branch of palaeontology and anthropology, was developed to understand the ecology of a decomposition site, how site ecology changes upon the introduction of plant or animal remains and, in turn, how site ecology affects the decomposition of these materials. In recent years, these goals were incorporated by forensic science to understand the decomposition of human cadavers, to provide a basis on which to estimate postmortem and/or postburial interval, to assist in the determination of cause and circumstances of death, and to aid in the location of clandestine graves. These goals are achieved through the study of the factors that influence cadaver decomposition (e.g. temperature, moisture, insect activity). These studies have also provided insight into the belowground ecology of cadaver breakdown and allowed to develop useful protocols for mass disaster managements in humanitarian medicine. From the results obtained, new scientific disciplines have arisen, gathered under the word “taphonomics” such as the study of microorganisms living below/on a cadaver (thanatogeomicrobiology), and join the more classical forensic sciences such as anthropology, botany or entomology. Taking into account the specificities of the study object (human cadaver), primordial requirements are needed in terms of security (physical and environmental) as well as ethical and legal concerns which are studied in the Swiss context. The present review aims to present in a first part the concept of human forensic taphonomy facilities (HFTF, also colloquially named “body farm”) leading to an enrichment of forensic sciences with new “taphonomics”. The second part is focused on the mandatory points that must be addressed for a HFTF approach, especially because it requires a specific place to undertake this research which must be performed in conformity with a country’s human ethics and laws.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Swiss Human Institute of Forensic Taphonomy, University Center of Legal Medicine Lausanne-Geneva, Chemin de la Vulliette 4, 1000, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Vincent Varlet & Silke Grabherr

  2. Avenue de Mon-Repos 14, 1001, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Charles Joye

  3. Département de chimie, biochimie et physique, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR), 3351 boulevard des Forges, Trois-Rivières, Québec, Canada

    Shari L. Forbes

  4. Forensic Medicine and Imaging Section, University Center of Legal Medicine Lausanne-Geneva, Chemin de la Vulliette 4, 1000, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Silke Grabherr

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  1. Vincent Varlet
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  2. Charles Joye
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  3. Shari L. Forbes
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  4. Silke Grabherr
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Contributions

Review conception was initiated and conceptualised by Vincent VARLET. All the ethical and legal aspects have been written by Charles JOYE. The first draft was written by Vincent VARLET and Charles JOYE, later improved by Shari FORBES and Silke GRABHERR and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Vincent Varlet.

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Varlet, V., Joye, C., Forbes, S.L. et al. Revolution in death sciences: body farms and taphonomics blooming. A review investigating the advantages, ethical and legal aspects in a Swiss context. Int J Legal Med 134, 1875–1895 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-020-02272-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-020-02272-6

Keywords

  • Human taphonomy
  • Taphonomics
  • Body farms
  • Forensic anthropology
  • Swiss legal context
  • Swiss ethical context