How long does it take for bones to decompose?

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asked Oct 27, 2019 in Science by emmablow (310 points)
How long does it take for bones to decompose?

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answered Oct 27, 2019 by Shelde (49,390 points)
Although a body will decompose within 10 to 20 years down to the bones the bones themselves can last for a very long time.

Bones have been dug up that have been estimated to be in the ground for millions of years.

So from that bones never really decompose although the rest of the body does.

It is possible that bones may actually decompose but it would likely take several million years for the bones to go away completely.

Bones actually do turn into fossil fuels such as the dinosaur bones and other bones that make up fossil fuels that we use a lot today.

Bones have been dug up of humans that have been in the ground for at least 100 years and sometimes longer.

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