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In culture and mythology

In the pre-Columbian Americas, the jaguar was a symbol of power and strength. In the Andes, a jaguar cult disseminated by the early Chavín culture became accepted over most of today's Peru by 900 BC. The later Moche culture in northern Peru used the jaguar as a symbol of power in many of their ceramics. In the Muisca religion in Altiplano Cundiboyacense, the jaguar was considered a sacred animal, and people dressed in jaguar skins during religious rituals. The skins were traded with peoples in the nearby Orinoquía Region. The name of the Muisca ruler Nemequene was derived from the Chibcha words nymy and quyne, meaning "force of the jaguar".

Sculptures with " Olmec were-jaguar " motifs were found on the Yucatán Peninsula in Veracruz and Tabasco; they show stylized jaguars with half-human faces. In the later Maya civilization, the jaguar was known as balam or bolom' in many of the Mayan languages, and was used to symbolize warriors and the elite class for being brave, fierce and strong. The cat was associated with the underworld and its image was used to decorate tombs and grave-good vessels.

The Aztec civilization called the jaguar ocelotl and considered it to be the king of the animals. It was believed to be fierce and courageous, but also wise, dignified and careful. The military had two classes of warriors, the ocelotl or jaguar warriors and the cuauhtli or eagle warriors and each dressed like their representative animal. In addition, members of the royal class would decorate in jaguar skins. The jaguar was considered to be the totem animal of the powerful deities Tezcatlipoca and Tepeyollotl.

A conch shell gorget depicting a jaguar was found in a burial mound in Benton County, Missouri. The gorget shows evenly-engraved lines and measures 104 mm × 98 mm (4.1 in × 3.9 in). Rock drawings made by the Hopi, Anasazi and Pueblo all over the desert and chaparral regions of the American Southwest show an explicitly spotted cat, presumably a jaguar, as it is drawn much larger than an ocelot.

The jaguar is also used as a symbol in contemporary culture. It is the national animal of Guyana and is featured in its coat of arms.