代词指代

猪猪鸡

Originally developed for detecting air pollutants, a technique called proton-induced X-ray emission, which can quickly analyze the chemical elements in almost any substance without destroying it,is finding uses in medicine, archaeology, and criminology.
代词的指代有就近的原则吗，比如这个句子，为什么it不知带前面的technique？还是说因为it和substance在同一个从句中，就不指代主句的antecedent？
代词一直好糊涂