Alex's Death's Acre Essay

In his memoir, Dr. Bill Bass, one of the nation's leading forensic anthropologists, recounts how a life spent studying dead bodies led to the creation of "The Anthropology Research Facility" (aka the Body Farm), a plot of land near the University of Tennessee Medical Center where Bill Bass and his colleagues monitor the decomposition of human corpses in various environments. While the novel’s earlier chapters focus on Bass's need for further development in the science of forensics, the later chapters allow the reader to appreciate how the scientific analysis of the Body Farm’s corpses has helped Bill Bass and other anthropologists solve some of the toughest and most bizarre cases of their careers. Readers will be surprised by how Dr. Bill Bass brings life to the dead.

Over the years, Bill Bass and his colleagues had developed and perfected numerous techniques to aid them in forensic dilemmas. In one case, Bill Bass and his team were requested to aid in the identification of a cremated corpse. Bill Bass could not confirm whether the ashes were even human. Bill had the ashes sent to a commercial lab where they went through a spectrographic test, “ICP-OES.” During the procedure the ashes were burned at ~18,000 degrees Fahrenheit, while the spectrograph captured the wavelengths of light emitted from the material. This chemical “fingerprint” was then matched to known elements, particularly silicon. The test revealed that the ashes contained nearly five times the amount of silicon normally found in cremated corpses, proving the ashes were not human. Instead they were actually composed of concrete and powdered limestone. Technology has come a long way to aid forensic science thanks to Bill Bass and his development of the Body Farm.

This is a fantastic novel not just because it shows how fascinating and important forensics is, but also because of how much this particular field has developed thanks to the important contributions of Dr. Bill Bass and his Body Farm.