About Our Logo

NJP’s logo has an interesting and mysterious source. In 1958, an archaeologist uncovered a small, carved conch shell pendant in a rock-and-earth mound in Benton County, Missouri. The pendant, known in archeology circles as a gorget, revealed unmistakable features of a jaguar – from the animal’s body shape and the nature of its spots to the form of its head, ears, and tail.

This discovery was an absolute surprise, since Missouri was not known to be part of the jaguar’s former range. Although no one knows the exact age and origin of the gorget, it parallels important religious motifs seen throughout Mesoamerica, where the jaguar is a powerful symbol of the underworld and figured in countless Mayan glyphs.

In 2007, the University of Missouri generously agreed to allow NJP to use the image as our logo.