Adipocere environment

Fiedler, S., Schneckenberg, K., and Graw, M. (2004). Characterization of soils containing adipocere. Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 47, 561-568. 

Adipocere formation has been observed in a variety of burial environments, including lead-lined coffins (Mant 1987), peat bogs (Evershed 1992), ice glaciers (Mayer, Reiter, and Bereuter 1997), and submerged locations (Kahana et al. 1999), and consequently numerous principles governing its... 

The formation of adipocere can occur in a vast range of burial environments and will proceed by the extraction of moisture from the internal tissues until they become desiccated and mummified (Ubelaker 1995). The dehydration of the internal organs as a result of adipocere formation accounts for the cessation of putrefaction and subsequently decomposition (Fiedler, Sch-nekenberger, and Graw 2004). In this way, adipocere formation can preserve human remains to an extent that can permit postmortem identification of the body (Poison et al. 1985). Frequently, adipocere formation and mummification will occur simultaneously, making the corpse extremely resistant to decomposition (Bereuter et al. 1996 Makristathis et al. 2002) (Figure 8.2). 

However, adipocere formation is not an end product, and eventually adipocere will also decompose. The factors necessary for decomposition of adipocere are not well documented. Similar to its formation, the decomposition of adipocere appears to be dependent on the surrounding burial environment (Fiedler et al. 2004). Early studies reported that an aerobic environment was necessary to decay adipocere, suggesting that adipocere would only decompose when a grave site was exposed to air or when an adipocerous body was exhumed to the soil surface (Evans 1963 Mant 1957, 1987). More recent studies suggest that the persistence of adipocere in a burial environment is related to the exclusion of gram positive bacteria, including species of Bacillus, Cellulomonas, and Nocardia, which are able to decompose adipocere (Pfeiffer et al. 1998). 

Saponification also takes place in nature, when fatty tissue is buried in a wet alkaline environment. This usually occurs in a bog or other wetland, where the local soils are alkaline and the subsurface conditions are anaerobic. The fats in an animal s body will gradually be converted into insoluble fatty acids, white or light yellow waxy solids that are known as adipocere or grave wax. The soft tissue of human cadavers buried in swamps or bogs may be almost entirely composed of this material after a period of time. 

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