The werejaguar was both an Olmec motif and a supernatural entity, perhaps a deity.
Las Limas Monument 1, showing an adolescent "presenting" a werejaguar infant. Profiles of four other supernaturals are incised on the adolescent's shoulders and knees.
Monument 52 from San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan, showing a classic werejaguar figure. The long deep groove carved into the back of this sculpture indicates it was part of the drainage system, associating the werejaguar with rain and water.
The "presentation" of an inert werejaguar baby is a common theme in Olmec art. Compare this with Las Limas Monument 1 above.
In Mesoamerican folk religion, a nagual or nahual is a human being who has the power to shapeshift into their tonal animal counterpart. Nagualism is tied to the belief one can access power and spiritual insight by connecting with the tonal animal within.
The Nahuals described in the Borgia Codex, metamorphic creatures capable of changing their physical form into any other animal form or even into human forms at will.
A pre-Columbian Chatino stela possibly depicting a nagual transforming into a jaguar. His name is inscribed in Zapotec glyphs on his abdomen and translates to "Five Alligator".