In the southern and central areas of America, the jaguar is seen as a sign of power and leadership to the people of the chavin cult, a religion in Peru in 900 B.C.E. The Jaguar was thought to be the gateway to the spiritual world and the communicator between the living and the dead. They were also later thought to be the protectors of the Maya civilizations' royal household. The Maya civilization saw the powerful cats as their companions in the spiritual world and every king was given a royal name which included the word jaguar. This image of the jaguar was shared by the Aztec civilization. The jaguar was the representative of a ruler and a warrior. They even formed an elite warrior class known as the jaguar knights. In the Aztec mythology,
