page_title: Werejaguar
section_title: Jaguar as victor
hierarchical_section_title: Werejaguar / Origins / Jaguar as victor
caption_attribution_description: English: A greenstone (serpentine) figurine showing a a male (per Joralemon) or female (per Coe) "presenting" a were-jaguar infant, a common theme in Olmec art. The adult is seated on what Joralemon calls a "Cloud Throne". Middle Classic Period; Height: 11.4 cm (4.5 in).
context_page_description: The were-jaguar was both an Olmec motif and a supernatural entity, perhaps a deity.
  The were-jaguar motif is characterized by almond-shaped eyes, a downturned open mouth, and a cleft head. It appears widely in the Olmec archaeological record, and in many cases, under the principle of pars pro toto, the were-jaguar motif represents the were-jaguar supernatural. The were-jaguar supernatural incorporates the were-jaguar motif as well as other features, although various academics define the were-jaguar supernatural differently. The were-jaguar supernatural was once considered to be the primary deity of the Olmec culture but is now thought to be only one of many.
  Originally, many scholars believed that the were-jaguar was tied to a myth concerning a copulation between a jaguar and a woman. Although this hypothesis is still recognized as viable by many researchers, other explanations for the were-jaguar motif have since been put forward, several questioning whether the motif actually represents a jaguar at all.
  The term is derived from Old English were, meaning "man", and jaguar, a large member of the cat family in the Olmec heartland, on analogy with werewolf.
context_section_description: In his 1978 article, Whitney Davis suggests that the so-called depictions of human-jaguar copulation on monuments are instead the beginnings of a jaguar cult or are representative of conquest in battle rather than a sexual conquest. Rather than viewing the people and jaguar-figures in sexual situations, Davis sees the jaguar, or man in jaguar pelts, as an aggressor towards a defeated opponent. Most of the figures in the reliefs and monuments are clothed in loincloths, which would negate copulation, and Davis believes those that are naked appear dead or dying rather than in a sexual posture. It is not uncommon to see unclothed human figures as representative of dead captives or opponents in battle, as in the danzantes of Monte Alban.
caption: The "presentation" of an inert were-jaguar baby is a common theme in Olmec art. Compare this with Las Limas Monument 1 above.
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