William M. Bass
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William M. Bass is a U.S. forensic anthropologist, renowned for his research on human osteology and human decomposition. He has also assisted federal, local, and non-US authorities in the identification of human remains. He taught at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and though currently retired from teaching, still plays an active research role at the Forensic Anthropology Research Facility, which he founded. The Facility is more popularly known as the "Body Farm", a name used by crime author Patricia Cornwell in a novel of the same name, which drew inspiration from Dr. Bass and his work. Bass has also described the body farm as "Death's Acre" – the title of the bestselling book on his life and career, cowritten with journalist Jon Jefferson.
[edit] Biography
Dr. Bass attended the University of Virginia for his undergraduate degree, and received his master's from the University of Kentucky. He completed his Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania in 1961. His research career began as an archaeologist, excavating Native American grave sites in the Midwest United States during the 1950s. He mentions in Death's Acre, somewhat humorously, that this activity earned him the informal title "Indian grave-robber number one" from the local Native American leaders. The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act was passed in 1990 to limit such activities.
