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Human Decomposition Ecology At The University Of Tennessee Anthropology Research Facility, Franklin Edward Damann

Doctoral Dissertations

The University of Tennessee Anthropology Research Facility (ARF) is well known for its unique history as a site of human decomposition research in a natural environment. It has been integral to our understanding of the processes of human decomposition. Over the last 30 years 1,089 bodies have decomposed at this 1.28 acre facility, producing a density of 850 corpses per acre of land. This project evaluated the abiotic and biotic characteristics of the soil exposed to various levels of human decomposition in order to determine the effect on the physicochemical properties and the indigenous bacterial communities.

Specifically, 75 soil samples …