The recovery of a 1,000-year-old Chinese shipw in the Java Sea near present-day Indonesia has yielded a treasure trove of artifacts, including thousands of small ceramic bowls. Using a portable X-ray fluorescence analyzer tool, Lisa Niziolek and her team were able to detect the chemical composition of these bowls without damaging them. By comparing the chemical signatures of the bowls with those of the materials still at old Chinese kiln sites, Niziolek and her team can pinpoint which Chinese kilns likely produced the ceramic bowls.

Which choice best states the main idea of the text?

Question

Accepted Answer

With the help of a special tool, researchers have determined the likely origin of bowls recovered from a shipwck.

Answer

Because of a new technology, researchers can locate and recover more shipwcks than they could in the past.

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Researchers have been able to identify the location of a number of Chinese kilns in operation 1,000 years ago.

Answer

Before the invention of portable X-ray fluorescence, researchers needed to take a small piece out of an artifact to analyze its components.