Read the passage below:
For decades, archaeologists analyzing ancient Mesoamerican agriculture relied primarily on macrobotanical remains, such as charred seeds and wood fragments, to reconstruct prehistoric crop cultivation. However, this approach systematically underestimated the significance of root crops like cassava and sweet potato, which rarely preserve in acidic tropical soils. To address this evidentiary bias, recent investigations have increasingly deployed phytolith analysis—the microscopic examination of silica bodies deposited within plant tissues. Critics initially contended that phytolith morphotypes are insufficiently distinct to differentiate closely related domesticated species from their wild progenitors. Yet, advanced three-dimensional morphometric modeling has recently demonstrated that phytoliths from domesticated maize can indeed be statistically distinguished from wild teosinte. Consequently, microbotanical analysis has shifted from an auxiliary diagnostic tool to a cornerstone of paleoethnobotanical methodology.
Which of the following best describes the rhetorical function of the sentence 'Critics initially contended that phytolith morphotypes are insufficiently distinct to differentiate closely related domesticated species from their wild progenitors' in the context of the passage as a whole?
- It introduces an objection to a newly introduced methodology that the author subsequently shows has been addressed by subsequent technological advances.Cevap
- BIt provides empirical evidence that undermines the author's main assertion regarding Mesoamerican agricultural history.
- CIt summarizes the central argument underpinning traditional macrobotanical research frameworks.
- DIt qualifies the author's endorsement of three-dimensional morphometric modeling by highlighting its methodological limitations.
- EIt proves conclusively that microbotanical remains are superior to macrobotanical remains in acidic soil environments.