Editing Mezcal (section)

=== Possible pre-colonial distillation ===

Some authors have also proposed the existence of a separate pre-colonial distillation of small quantities of agave for elites, based on an interpretation of the peculiarly-shaped double or triple-chambered [[Capacha Culture]] clay vessels as small stills.<ref name="McGovern"/><ref name="Hatchett"/><ref name="aldan">{{cite AV media | people =Aldana, Pascual (Director); Fuentes, Alberto (Producer); Aldana, Daniel (Animation and Visual Effects;  Zizumbo, Daniel; Colunga, Patricia; González, Fernando | date =October 2012 | title = Los Mezcales del Occidente de México y la Destilación Prehispánica | type =Documentary | language =es | url =https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atqU5pwK9E4 | publisher =Explora México, Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán (CICY)| doi=10.13140/RG.2.1.3730.3209}}</ref> These vessels are known in Spanish as {{lang|es|bules}}, and dates to c.1500 to 1000 BCE. They were hypothesized to have been capped with a condensing cold water-filled bowl, with a very small cup placed inside to collect the distillate. Modern replicas using this method have been successful in producing small quantities of spirits with an alcohol content as high as 35%. If the distillation of mezcal was indeed present in pre-Columbian Mexico, it would mean the introduction of Filipino-type stills merely expanded the production by using new techniques. However, the archaeological evidence for this remains inconclusive,<ref name="McGovern"/><ref name="Hatchett"/><ref name="Salgado-Ceballos">{{cite journal |last1=Salgado-Ceballos |first1=Carlos |last2=Mitrani |first2=Alejandro |last3=Alcántara Salinas |first3=Andrés Saúl |last4=Galicia Flores |first4=María Judith |last5=Leiva García |first5=Pavel Carlos |last6=Cañetas Ortega |first6=Jaqueline Rafaela Dolores |title=Technological analysis of Capacha pottery from the Colima Valley (western Mexico) by ED-XRF and thin-section petrography |journal=Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports |date=June 2021 |volume=37 |pages=102914 |doi=10.1016/j.jasrep.2021.102914|bibcode=2021JArSR..37j2914S }}</ref> as examination and molecular testing of ancient Capacha {{lang|es|bules}} in 2019 have not detected any of the expected macroscopic botanical remains (like fibers) or chemical biomarkers for agave or any other high-sugar agricultural products (like fruits, cactus juice, honey, or corn) that could be distilled into spirits. Furthermore, all of the vessels are exclusively only found in association with tombs and burial sites (they are absent in utilitarian or industrial sites); they show completely no evidence of ever having been placed over a fire;  and no cups or bowls have been recovered ''in situ'' in association with them.<ref name="McGovern">{{cite journal |last1=McGovern |first1=Patrick E. |title=Pre-Hispanic Distillation? A Biomolecular Archaeological Investigation |journal=Open Access Journal of Archaeology & Anthropology |date=11 March 2019 |volume=1 |issue=2 |doi=10.33552/OAJAA.2019.01.000509|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Salgado-Ceballos"/>