Decomposition in an Open Field

[Ghost]

So... I have this battlefield where corpses were left to rot. They've been in an open field for about six weeks, exposed to the elements.

The bodies are at a stage of advanced decay:
Stages of Decomposition - Australian Museum (Stage 5)
Forensic entomological decomposition - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Decomposition - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

My questions are these:
How much give would the corpses have? I mean, if a character were to interact with one by kicking one or attempting to move one, I'm assuming it wouldn't hold together well. I described a crunching sound when someone kicks the ribcage of a corpse, but I want to be accurate.

Would they smell strongly? I've come across dogs in this stage of decomp, and I could only smell it when I was right on top of them. The second link states: "Strong odors of decomposition begin to fade." Keep in mind, this is a field strewned with bodies. I don't know if the smell would be powerful or faint but pervasive. I figure, since they're not in active decay, it wouldn't be a wall of smell but the number of bodies might affect that.

I'd appreciate any help you can give me!

 

[Caged Maiden]

did you watch that Stephen Fry in America I posted? It is extremely informative. I'll try to find the link again.
Stephen Fry in America - episode 2 - Deep South - YouTube

The part with the bodies is about 23 minutes in and goes for 8 minutes or so. As far as information about decomposition, this is the best clip I've ever seen. Hope that helps!

 

[Devor]

There's been some discussion about it already in this thread. http://mythicscribes.com/forums/research/2440-how-long-before-hes-ripe.html

I remember - well, I saw it on Bones, but I remember from elsewhere that it's true - that there's actually a research institution where they leave out human corpses in a field and under different conditions to test how they decay. If anybody knows a link for that place it'd probably answer the question under a thousand situations.

 

[Ghost]

Yeah, that's the Body Farm at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. It's mentioned in anihow's video. I wasn't able to glean the appropriate information, but I may have missed it. If all else fails, I can ask them or another forensic anthropology department for more info. Or I can bluff my way through the scene.

Does anyone have research, speculation, or insights on how fragile corpses in advanced decay are and how strong the odor might be with a large number of them in an open area?

 

[Caged Maiden]

It probably depends on the time of year. If it's summer, and there are too many bodies for carrion-eaters (which would be loads upon loads) it might smell pretty awful, but I think 6 weeks after the massacre, ravens too fat to fly ought to have cleaned up what bugs and coyotes and wild dogs didn't. It's very likely you have a field of mostly bones.

 

[SeverinR]

I might have missed it,
but what kind of terrain?

Desert-dry rotting, all moisture is sucked from the corpse.
Jungle-so much moisture maceration occurs plus scavenger animals and bugs assist
forest-average moisture, typical decomp situation.
Frozen-freeze dried, decomp almost or completely stopped, posssibility of "freezer burn"

Heat-the hotter the day the more the corpse will rot. Bacteria and fungus grow faster in warmer temps(up to the point of cooking) *more growth, faster decomp. Parasites will breed faster in warm temps. More parasites, more decomp.

Frequent rain increases moisture which will alter decomp.

Basically consider the enviroment around the corpses.

 

[Ghost]

I imagined it like West Virginia or eastern Kentucky and the field (a pasture) is surrounded by woods and there's a river nearby. The story is set at the end of summer/beginning of autumn. Low temperature would be 50s-60s, high temperatures 70s-80s, humidity would be in the 70-95%, and it rains about 4-8 inches during the time the bodies are out there. In my story, there are no large scavengers, but there is still insect activity.

I wasn't sure what was relevant. I have a convoluted way of communicating, so I tried to keep the first post focused. The time frame is negotiable, but the stage of decay is part of the story. I kept coming across articles about fresh bodies, skeletonized bodies, and bodies in enclosed places, none of which fit my scenario. So I turned to you guys.

I still want info or guesses regarding the odor. That's the most important element for me right now because it's harder for me to imagine due to the stage of decomp and the number of bodies.

 

[Devor]

I still for info or guesses regarding the odor. That's the most important element for me right now because it's harder for me to imagine due to the stage of decomp and the number of bodies.

Death has an unmistakable smell that most people would be familiar with. It starts within a day and lasts until the body dries out or the flesh is gone. Bodies dry out fast in warm climates and slowly in the cold. Bones don't smell.

Quick google search, I couldn't find more specifics than that.

Death reeks, though.

 

[Kit]

Completely unscientific and anectodal: When I was a preteen, someone hit a big raccoon about a half mile down our country road. No one ever cleaned it up, so my combined boredom and morbid fascination had me wandering down there to check up on its progress almost every day for about a month. This was spring IIRC, temps maybe 60's-ish, moderate sun for part of the day.

First few days- it looked like it was asleep. No smell.

By about day 4, you could smell it a bit, and parts of the corpse started to look slightly caved-in, other parts started to look slightly dried-up.

By day 6, the maggots had found it and were very busy. The corpse looked like it was at a rolling boil. Over the next few days, there was much less body mass and much more maggot mass every time I looked. From day six to about day 12-ish you could smell it from a block and a half down the road. It was like running into a solid wall of odor.

After two and a half weeks, it was mostly bones and dried skin, not many visible parasites left. The smell tapered off from there- by about week 4, you again had to be fairly close to smell it. It took a really long time for the smell to fade completely, though- like more than eight weeks.


Geez, this makes me sound like some kind of psycho. But I was about 12, out in the middle of nowhere with no playmates and this was before computers.... I was bored out of my gourd.

 

[edd]

sounds like you needed a hobby lol, but to be honest learning about death is part of life when i was a kid i had a cat who was very sick. I had to hand feed it milk with a droplet making thingy ( cant remember the name) for three days hoping it would recover. On the third day when i got home from school i found out my dad had taken it away to be put down. the sad part was i never got to say good bye. i remember thinking about trying to give it my life force if i could lol, i was an imaginative child even when i was a kid.

realized i was a bit off topic lol
if left the elements depends n the place desert, on plain, fields?
say a place like Africa, heat and weather matters.

http://www.wereyouwondering.com/how-long-does-it-take-for-a-body-to-decompose/
this might help do you research better than what i have to say i guess but in fantasy doesnt have to be 100% correct.

 

[gavintonks]

go to rotton.com they have pictures of daily decomposition of body and various wounds etc.
A human body stinks like no other, we had some people drink some rot gut and died and was discovered a week later because of the smell it permeates and sticks to everything. Plus the body can become extremely toxic and dangerous, that's why the armies would have a truce pick up the dead and burn them after the days fight [older cultures] and bags of quick lime, mortuary bags. A client of mine had a body prep area and they try and get rid of liquids as quickly as possible

 

[gavintonks]

rotten.com: This is rotten dot com just dont be squamish