A semiautomated image analysis procedure for the quantification of dental microwear II.

Paleontologists often examine microscopic scratches and pits that form on teeth for indications of the diets of past animals. Most researchers count and measure scratches and pits from photomicrographs to identify microwear patterns for comparison among samples. This paper describes an affordable, available semiautomated image analysis procedure for microwear quantification. An image is downloaded from a scanning electron microscope frame buffer to a microcomputer, and the user identifies microwear features with a mouse-driven pointer. Microwear feature density, dimensions, and orientations are then computed and stored as ASCII files for subsequent data analysis.