The Forensic Anthropology Center at Texas State (FACTS) is a 26-acre
forensic anthropology
Forensic anthropology is the application of the anatomical science of anthropology and its various subfields, including forensic archaeology and forensic taphonomy, in a legal setting. A forensic anthropologist can assist in the identification ...
research facility
A research institute, research centre, research center or research organization, is an establishment founded for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research. Although the term often i ...
located on the
Freeman Ranch
The Freeman Center is a plot of land between San Marcos and Wimberley, Texas. It was founded in 1941 by weekend ranchers Harold M. "Harry" Freeman and his brother Joe. The Freeman Center houses the Texas State University Forensic Anthropology Cen ...
in
San Marcos
San Marcos is the Spanish name of Saint Mark. It may also refer to:
Towns and cities Argentina
* San Marcos, Salta
Colombia
* San Marcos, Antioquia
* San Marcos, Sucre
Costa Rica
* San Marcos, Costa Rica (aka San Marcos de Tarrazú)
...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
. It is one of the seven extant
body farms in the United States and the largest such forensics research facility in the world.
Background
A Forensic Anthropology Research Facility was commissioned by the
Texas State University
Texas State University is a public research university in San Marcos, Texas. Since its establishment in 1899, the university has grown to the second largest university in the Greater Austin metropolitan area and the fifth largest university ...
Department of Anthropology and is under the direction of Dr. Michelle Hamilton, a former student of
Dr. Bill Bass, founder of the
first body farm. The forensic research facility is fully operational and is part of the Forensic Anthropology Center at Texas State (FACTS). The forensic facility has received a financial donation of over $100,000 from a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Texas State University, and has started construction of an adjoining million dollar lab to augment the facility. The development of this facility has been possible through the efforts of Dr. Jerry Melbye, D-ABFA.
Prior to the selection of the location, objections by local residents and the nearby
San Marcos Municipal Airport
San Marcos Regional Airport is a public use airport located in Caldwell County, Texas, United States. It is four nautical miles (7 km) east of the central business district of San Marcos, a city that is mostly in Hays County. The airport ...
(owing to concerns about circling vultures) stalled the plan. But on February 12, 2008, Texas State University announced that its Freeman Ranch, off County Road 213 northwest of San Marcos, would be the site of the facility. The vultures that originally created problems for the location of the research facility have provided a new area of study on the effect of vulture scavenging on human decomposition.
The Forensic Anthropology Research Facility (FARF) is a human decomposition research laboratory where questions related to outdoor crime scenes and decomposition rates for human remains under various topographical and climate conditions are investigated. The FARF serves as a resource for students of forensic anthropology as well as state and national law enforcement agencies. The work conducted here will have a direct impact on law enforcement and forensic investigations throughout the state of Texas, and beyond. The Forensic Anthropology Center at Texas State accepts body donations for scientific research purposes under the
Uniform Anatomical Gift Act The Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (UAGA), and its periodic revisions, is one of the Uniform Acts drafted by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL), also known as the Uniform Law Commission (ULC), in the United States ...
. The areas of research conducted with donated bodies will include reconstructing the postmortem interval to determine time since death and related studies in human decomposition. The overall aim of this type of research is to assist law enforcement agents and the medico-legal community in their investigations.
While practical restraints currently limit the Forensic Anthropology Research Facility to only around seven acres in the
Texas Hill Country, Freeman Ranch has about available.
See also
* ''
Missing in Brooks County
''Missing in Brooks County'' is a 2020 feature-length documentary (1 hr 21 m), directed and filmed by Lisa Molomot and Jeff Bemiss. Its subject is the passage of illegal migrants through Brooks County, Texas, and specifically how thousands die o ...
''
References
External links
Official siteDepartment of Anthropology
at ''Texas State University''
{{coord, 29.888650, -97.939086, type:edu, display=title
Body farms
Texas State University
Buildings and structures in San Marcos, Texas