Practice question · Put in order
Order these skeletal age markers from the youngest age they appear to the oldest.
- Permanent molars come in (childhood)
- First baby teeth erupt (infancy)
- Cranial sutures and joint surfaces show wear (mature adult)
- Long-bone growth plates fuse (late teens–twenties)
Hints
- Dental development comes before skeletal fusion.
- Wear accumulates over the whole adult lifespan.
Show the answer
- First baby teeth erupt (infancy)
- Permanent molars come in (childhood)
- Long-bone growth plates fuse (late teens–twenties)
- Cranial sutures and joint surfaces show wear (mature adult)
Why
The body ages on a schedule: teeth, then fusion, then wear. Tight and readable in youth, the schedule blurs into ranges as adulthood wears on.
Practise Bioarchaeology
The app has 4 more questions on this lesson, and keeps your place in the course. History I is free to start.
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