Olmec burial figures, such as this jade sculpture with its “baby face” and turned-down mouth, are referred to as were-jaguars and are thought to represent a mythical being who was part human and part jaguar. The jaguar, a large and powerful jungle cat, was revered by the Olmec, a very early civilization in Mexico.
Objects of jade were highly prized in the ancient Americas because the stone was rare and so hard that great skill was required to carve and shape it.
