Maya_Olmec

Were-jaguar sculpture in the Museum of Anthropology at Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico.Note the downturned mouth and almond-shaped or slit-like eyes so characteristic of were-jaguars.The Olmec civilization was first defined as a distinctive art style. The various sculpture, figurines, and celts which emerged in what is now recognized as the Olmec heartland off the Gulf of Mexico Coast near the Yucatán Peninsula, revealed that these people knew their jungle companions well and incorporated them into their mythology. One of the most prominent, distinctive, and enigmatic Olmec designs to appear in the archaeological record has been what archaeologists traditionally call the "were-jaguar". Although the most commonly found were-jaguars were figurines of were-jaguar babies, the motif can also be found carved into jade "votive axes" and celts engraved onto various portable figurines of jade and jadeite, and depicted on several altars at La Venta. The were-jaguar figure can also be characterized by a distinctive down-turned mouth, almond-shaped eyes, and fleshy lips. Additionally, the were-jaguar is often depicted with a cleft forehead, similar to the male jaguar which has a cleft running vertically the length of its head.