# How long does it take a human body to turn to a skelton
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-a-human-body-to-turn-to-a-skelton/472495
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [November 13, 2008, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-a-human-body-to-turn-to-a-skelton/472495 "2008-11-13T05:26:46Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@ladgem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladgem)
#### Post date: [November 13, 2008, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-a-human-body-to-turn-to-a-skelton/472495/1 "2008-11-13T05:26:46Z")
i lost my mother (9 yrs) ago and my fiancee (41 yrs ) ago. I’ve been curious about how long does it take for a human to turn into a skeleton . That i wondered about for years. I used to work in a funeral home and never got around to asking the mortician , if he knew could you tell me if you know. Thank you.
/
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### Author:  [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)
#### Post date: [November 13, 2008, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-a-human-body-to-turn-to-a-skelton/472495/2 "2008-11-13T05:45:48Z")
I’ faith, if he be not rotten before he die–as we
have many pocky corses now-a-days, that will scarce
hold the laying in–he will last you some eight year
or nine year: a tanner will last you nine year.
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### Author:  [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)
#### Post date: [November 13, 2008, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-a-human-body-to-turn-to-a-skelton/472495/3 "2008-11-13T06:30:58Z")
Is it Red?
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### Author:  [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)
#### Post date: [November 13, 2008, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-a-human-body-to-turn-to-a-skelton/472495/4 "2008-11-13T06:31:22Z")
Depending on the weather, and how the body is stored (casket, open ground) less then a year, even weeks.
> **[Body farm](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_Farm)**
>
> A body farm is a research facility where decomposition of humans and other animals can be studied in a variety of settings. The initial facility was conceived by anthropologist William M. Bass in 1981 at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee, where Bass was interested in studying the decomposition of a human corpse from the time of death to the time of decay. The aim was to gain a better understanding of the decomposition process, permitting the development of techniques for e Seven...
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### Author:  [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)
#### Post date: [November 13, 2008, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-a-human-body-to-turn-to-a-skelton/472495/5 "2008-11-13T13:30:15Z")
Welcome to the SDMB, ladgem.
Since this doesn’t appear to be a comment on one of Cecil’s columns, I’ll move this thread to our forum for factual queries, General Questions.
bibliophage
moderator CCC
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### Author:  [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)
#### Post date: [November 13, 2008, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-a-human-body-to-turn-to-a-skelton/472495/6 "2008-11-13T14:19:35Z")
As a side note, when I was a physical anthropology grad student about 15 years ago, I and another colleague were interviewed by the author Darrien North (her pen name, I can’t remember her real name at the moment) about that question given particular circumstances. As **Maastricht** pointed out, it depends (weather, soil environment, animal activity, etc.). I know of one case in south Louisiana in the summer time when it took only two weeks for the body to completely skeletonize. In other rare cases the answer is, well, never.
I believe Ms. North was wanting a situation where a skeleton was preserved intact in a South American rain forest for about 30 years. It was a fun what-if exercise, and I think we finally came up with a scenario where the body was found in cold, still, deep water, and the body tissue was converted to adipocere.
I and my colleague got an acknowledgment in the book and Ms. North graciously sent me a copy. Yay, fame.
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### Author:  [@Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Petrobey_Mavromihalis)
#### Post date: [November 13, 2008, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-a-human-body-to-turn-to-a-skelton/472495/7 "2008-11-13T14:19:37Z")
Definitely less than three years.
They dig up bodies after that here in Greece, and then reinter the bones in a communal ossary. This means that if someone close to you dies you will, in all likelihood, see and/or touch their bones. This struck me as a bit creepy at first, but I actually think it brings home the idea of death well - that Shakespeare fellow knew a thing or two.
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### Author:  [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)
#### Post date: [November 13, 2008, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-a-human-body-to-turn-to-a-skelton/472495/8 "2008-11-13T14:33:18Z")
> [@Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](#):
>
> Definitely less than three years.
>
> They dig up bodies after that here in Greece, and then reinter the bones in a communal ossary. This means that if someone close to you dies you will, in all likelihood, see and/or touch their bones. This struck me as a bit creepy at first, but I actually think it brings home the idea of death well - that Shakespeare fellow knew a thing or two.
Yeah, but are they using the American Way of Death in Greece? Your relatives here in the US are probably embalmed, then put in a casket, and then put in a big sealed concrete box. If the Greek bodies are, say, in pine boxes in the ground, that’s very different.
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### Author:  [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)
#### Post date: [November 13, 2008, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-a-human-body-to-turn-to-a-skelton/472495/9 "2008-11-13T14:41:12Z")
> [@Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](#):
>
> Definitely less than three years.
>
> They dig up bodies after that here in Greece, and then reinter the bones in a communal ossary. This means that if someone close to you dies you will, in all likelihood, see and/or touch their bones. This struck me as a bit creepy at first, but I actually think it brings home the idea of death well - that Shakespeare fellow knew a thing or two.
In US cemetaries, though, bodies aren’t meant to be dug up and (if in the ground) the coffin is likely enclosed by a sealed vault or liner.
Old joke: “Daddy, daddy, but I don’t want to see Grandma” / “Shut up and keep digging!”
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### Author:  [@Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Petrobey_Mavromihalis)
#### Post date: [November 13, 2008, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-a-human-body-to-turn-to-a-skelton/472495/10 "2008-11-13T14:57:45Z")
> [@Zsofia](#):
>
> Yeah, but are they using the American Way of Death in Greece? Your relatives here in the US are probably embalmed, then put in a casket, and then put in a big sealed concrete box. If the Greek bodies are, say, in pine boxes in the ground, that’s very different.
I didn’t know I had relatives in the States! Can I come and stay?
To answer the questions - I’m not entirely sure. Certainly no to the concrete box or vault (seriously? Is that just because people don’t like the idea of their relatives been eaten? Very Pharonic). Not sure about embalming, although at the funerals I’ve seen they don’t put the lid on until after the church service, so maybe. And the coffins have looked like your average wooden box.
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### Author:  [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)
#### Post date: [November 13, 2008, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-a-human-body-to-turn-to-a-skelton/472495/11 "2008-11-13T15:13:02Z")
Using 19th century embalming techniques, the bodies of Napoleon, Lincoln, and Zachary Taylor all were very well preserved when they were re-interred decades after their deaths.
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### Author:  [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)
#### Post date: [November 13, 2008, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-a-human-body-to-turn-to-a-skelton/472495/12 "2008-11-13T15:17:31Z")
> [@Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](#):
>
> I didn’t know I had relatives in the States! Can I come and stay?
>
> To answer the questions - I’m not entirely sure. Certainly no to the concrete box or vault (seriously? Is that just because people don’t like the idea of their relatives been eaten? Very Pharonic). Not sure about embalming, although at the funerals I’ve seen they don’t put the lid on until after the church service, so maybe. And the coffins have looked like your average wooden box.
Yes, it’s very Pharonic. Americans are very separated from death by preference. The thing is, it just makes you decompose anaerobically, which is super-nasty. I would much prefer the pine box.
Also, it’s my understanding that in most of Europe you don’t exactly have a perpetual lease on your six feet there, so that even in places where they don’t dig you up so soon as your Greek example they do at some point dig you up. That very, very rarely happens in the US. Graves may be moved if they really have to be, but my understanding is that it’s a pretty complicated process. It always means a big halt to construction if you find evidence of, say, a slave cemetery.
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### Author:  [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)
#### Post date: [November 13, 2008, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-a-human-body-to-turn-to-a-skelton/472495/13 "2008-11-13T15:28:17Z")
The University of Tennessee has what is known as the “Body Farm” where they watch human corpses decompose under many different conditions. They study 100 or more at a time.
National Geographic Video on the subject (warning: very graphic but good):
> **[National Geographic](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/)**
>
> Explore National Geographic. A world leader in geography, cartography and exploration.
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### Author:  [@Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Petrobey_Mavromihalis)
#### Post date: [November 13, 2008, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-a-human-body-to-turn-to-a-skelton/472495/14 "2008-11-13T15:37:09Z")
> [@Zsofia](#):
>
> Also, it’s my understanding that in most of Europe you don’t exactly have a perpetual lease on your six feet there, so that even in places where they don’t dig you up so soon as your Greek example they do at some point dig you up. That very, very rarely happens in the US. Graves may be moved if they really have to be, but my understanding is that it’s a pretty complicated process. It always means a big halt to construction if you find evidence of, say, a slave cemetery.
Perhaps it’s a space thing - we just don’t have the room for all those graves. Back in the UK, where I’m from, cremation is pretty much the norm nowadays. Here in Greece cremation is against the Orthodox religion, so they’ve solved the problem another way.
On a side note they also “read” the bones in Greece. Most villages will have an old lady who will tell you a person’s character from the state of his bones when they are dug up (was he a good, faithful man etc).
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### Author:  [@J\_Cubed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/J_Cubed)
#### Post date: [November 13, 2008, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-a-human-body-to-turn-to-a-skelton/472495/15 "2008-11-13T15:53:11Z")
> [@Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](#):
>
> On a side note they also “read” the bones in Greece. Most villages will have an old lady who will tell you a person’s character from the state of his bones when they are dug up (was he a good, faithful man etc).
Isn’t it a little late for that?
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### Author:  [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)
#### Post date: [November 13, 2008, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-a-human-body-to-turn-to-a-skelton/472495/16 "2008-11-13T15:59:48Z")
> [@ladgem](#):
>
> I’ve been curious about how long does it take for a human to turn into a skeleton .
I get to be the first to recommend (highly) this book: [Stiff, the Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, by Mary Roach](http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stiff-Curious-Lives-Human-Cadavers/dp/0141007451). Everything you ever wanted to know on the subject, plus a lot of stuff you didn’t want to know but that is even more interesting than the stuff you wanted to know. Check it out.
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### Author:  [@Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Petrobey_Mavromihalis)
#### Post date: [November 13, 2008, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-a-human-body-to-turn-to-a-skelton/472495/17 "2008-11-13T16:09:26Z")
> [@J\_Cubed](#):
>
> Isn’t it a little late for that?
That’s what I think!
I get the impression it’s a comfort thing for the relatives. However I could be wrong on details. Most Greeks consider this sort of thing backward, even if they do it themselves, so aren’t forthcoming to foreigners.
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### Author:  [@masterofnone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/masterofnone)
#### Post date: [November 13, 2008, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-a-human-body-to-turn-to-a-skelton/472495/18 "2008-11-13T16:41:12Z")
> [@Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](#):
>
> I get the impression it’s a comfort thing for the relatives.
How often do they say he was an a$$hole?
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### Author:  [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)
#### Post date: [November 13, 2008, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-a-human-body-to-turn-to-a-skelton/472495/19 "2008-11-13T16:42:30Z")
I keep reading the thread title with the addendum “Need answer fast!”
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### Author:  [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)
#### Post date: [November 13, 2008, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-does-it-take-a-human-body-to-turn-to-a-skelton/472495/20 "2008-11-13T16:45:28Z")
> [@Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](#):
>
> That’s what I think!
>
> I get the impression it’s a comfort thing for the relatives. However I could be wrong on details. Most Greeks consider this sort of thing backward, even if they do it themselves, so aren’t forthcoming to foreigners.
So, if you’re paying the fortuneteller, does she ever come up with “That cheating, lying scamp! Do you want to know who his other children are?”
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