Those rituals evolved in the first place because they were effective. Religion only becomes relevant when you look at the explanation of why it works. They beli

Those rituals evolved in the first place because they were effective. Religion only becomes relevant when you look at the explanation of why it works. They believed that the gods would take those gifts as offerings. If some ritual didn't work, then it seems that ritual couldn't convince the gods to make the plants grow better, so they tried something different. Sure, a scientific explanation might help with finding out which things work and which don't, but in theory, trial and error doesn't need a proper explanation for the phenomenon.