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A major 1965 Olmec-oriented exhibition was entitled "The Jaguar's Children" and referred to the werejaguar as "the divine power of the Olmec civilization". [ 8 ] This paradigm was undermined, however, by the discovery that same year of Las Limas Monument 1 , a greenstone sculpture that displayed not only a werejaguar baby, but four other ...
One of the most prominent, distinctive, and enigmatic Olmec designs to appear in the archaeological record has been the "were-jaguar". Seen not only in figurines, the motif also may be found carved into jade "votive axes" and celts, engraved onto various portable figurines of jade, and depicted on several "altars", such as those at La Venta .
Olmec motifs associated with the were-jaguar include a cleft on the head or headdress, a headband, and cross-bars. [22] Most were-jaguar figurines show an inert were-jaguar baby being held by an adult. Olmec eagle transformation figure, 10th–6th century BCE Jade , with cinnabar. Height: 4.5 inches (11 cm).
Joralemon states that the Olmec rain spirit "is based on were-jaguar features", but is not the were-jaguar per se. [19] More recent scholarship by Tate (2012) questions the existence of "were-jaguar" imagery [d] and instead argues for the centrality of embryo-corn kernel iconography within Olmec iconography. [20]
Polish craniologist Andrzej Wiercinski claims that some of the Olmecs were of African origin. [12] He supports this claim with cranial evidence from two Mesoamerican sites: Tlatilco and Cerro de las Mesas. Tlatilco is a site in the Valley of Mexico. Although outside the Olmec heartland, Olmec influences appear in the architectural record. The ...
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Las Limas Monument 1, also known as the Las Limas figure or the Señor de las Limas, is a 55 centimetres (22 in) greenstone figure of a youth holding a limp were-jaguar baby. Found in the State of Veracruz, Mexico, in the Olmec heartland, the statue is famous for its incised representations of Olmec supernaturals
Altar 5 faces Altar 4 across Structure D-8 (one of the dozens of mounds at La Venta, the remains of platforms). Altar 5 is similar in design and size to Altar 4, except that the central figure holds an inert, perhaps dead, were-jaguar baby. The left side of Altar 5 features bas-reliefs of humans holding quite lively were-jaguar babies. Like the ...