Alcohol beverages prior to White contact originated with the Mayan and the Aztec Nations and spread to the American Indians of the Southwest. Surprisingly, there are a number of accounts of alcohol use among other American Indians and Alaska Natives. Beverages were limited to wine and beer, and included: balche, pulque, and "haren a pitahaya" wines, tulpi beer and other beverages. White contact brought dramatic shifts in the use and function of alcoholic beverages in American Indian and Alaska Native societies.