Were-Jaguar

Were-Jaguar axe. Olmec, Veracruz, Gulf Coast, Mexico. Mid Preclassical c. 1100-800 B.C.; The Olmec "were-jaguar" combined human infant with a jaguar or toad's down-turned mouth; When the "were-jaguar" appeared on Olmec votive axes, it had fertility significance, made clear by the maize plant symbol sprouting from the cleft in its head.
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