Diet and rate of decomposition of the corpse in a human surrogate.

The decomposition of an inert body seems to depend on the physiological, biological and physical characteristics of the corpse. The effect of these, especially of extra-biological mechanisms, on the rate of decomposition of the corpse does not seem to be sufficiently explored. The present work proposes to examine the influence of the type of feeding on the rate of cadaver decomposition in a human surrogate. It is based on a sample of four corpses of juvenile male pigs of the species Sus scrofa domesticus, three of which are experimental and one is a control aged 12 weeks and having a mass between 19 and 24 kg. The three experimental pigs were fed an energetic, construction and functional diet respectively. The control was fed a general diet. These different carcasses are exposed to the open air on four similar sites. The experiment is repeated twice, according to the protocol that guided the initial experiment conducted on comparable sites (eight cadavers, six experimental and two control). The measurement of the pigs' diet was done through a questionnaire. The mass of the decomposing carcass was explored by a specific tool, in this case, the weighing device. The results show that the rate of decomposition of the cadaver of pigs fed a general diet is higher than that of the cadavers of their counterparts fed construction, functional or energy diets. The type of diet would therefore influence the rate of decomposition of the cadaver of a human surrogate.