How long does it take a body to decompose and be left only with bones.?

Question

I heard in the news that they are exhuming a body that was buried in 2004. How would the body currently be?

Answer 1

There's a huge variation depending on many factors. The biggies are the type of embalming done, the casket material, whether the casket was encased in a metal burial vault (required in some states), and the temperature and moisture levels of the soil in which the casket was interred.

Probably the flesh would be decomposing but not yet fully decomposed. The presence of fat retards decomposition. The bones, ligaments, and tendons are probably intact.

FWIW, they research decomposition rates at "body farms" at which the corpses of people who have donated their bodies to science are put in various circumstances and observed for decay rates. The research has proven enormously helpful in determining time of death in murder cases.

Answer 2

Depends on a lot of things. As someone already said, maggots and flies help; these are called 'decomposers' for that reason. It also depends on the climate; cold and dry climates don't allow for bacteria to survive as well to help decompose the body. It could be just a short period of time for the body to decompose; it could take many, many years. On a side note: people of today are decomposing more slowly than they did a century or two ago. This is due to the fact that we have a lot of preservatives in our food nowadays, and they build up in our system to the point where they wind up preserving US! Gross, huh? That's part of the reason why it's better to opt for all natural and/or preservative free foods.

Answer 3

It depends on whether it was preserved, or where it was. A body left out in the desert will be bones in under a year. A body left in a sewer will be bones in under a year and a half. A body buried in a casket will still be very fleshy. A body left in a casket and preserved, even after 3 years, will still look pretty good.

Answer 4

You might enjoy the book, "A Fly for the Prosecution." It was written by a forensic entomologist, and he discusses your question in detail.

Basically it depends on several conditions, one of the most important being ambient temperature. Thus we find sailors buried in permafrost preserved for a hundred years, and corpses rapidly reduced to bones in the tropics.

Answer 5

It would depend on location, exposure to the elements, temperature, etc.

Exhuming a body that had been professionally prepared for burial is different situation.

Answer 6

8 months 14 days at room temperature.

Answer 7

it's kinda scary that you are askin this question.....what are you going to do with the answer? ;-)