This paper reports on a research project that compared decomposition rates among pigs, rabbits, and humans across three seasonal trials that spanned nearly two years and used the Total Body Score method to quantify decomposition changes and calculate the postmortem interval; results indicated that decomposition trends of the nonhuman models failed to capture the pattern, rate, and variability of human decomposition.
While nonhuman animal remains are often utilized in forensic research to develop methods to estimate the postmortem interval, systematic studies that directly validate animals as proxies for human decomposition are lacking. The current project compared decomposition rates among pigs, rabbits, and humans at the University of Tennessee's Anthropology Research Facility across three seasonal trials that spanned nearly two years. The Total Body Score (TBS) method was applied to quantify decomposition changes and calculate the postmortem interval (PMI) in accumulated degree days (ADD). Decomposition trajectories were analyzed by comparing the estimated and actual ADD for each seasonal trial and by fuzzy cluster analysis. The cluster analysis demonstrated that the rabbits formed one group while pigs and humans, although more similar to each other than to rabbits, still showed important differences in decomposition patterns. The decomposition trends show that neither nonhuman model captured the pattern, rate, and variability of human decomposition. (Published Abstract Provided)
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