Human sacrifice isn't neatly mapped to warfare at all. Yes, there was sacrifice of POWs, but there also were warlike cultures which didn't engage in human sacri

Human sacrifice isn't neatly mapped to warfare at all. Yes, there was sacrifice of POWs, but there also were warlike cultures which didn't engage in human sacrifice, and also cultures that practiced human sacrifice with their own people on the altar, especially kids, in order to please the gods. As Bret Devereaux [0] likes to say, people in the past believed in their own religion. Without accepting that, it is impossible to understand a lot of ancient practices. Reinterpreting everything in the most cynical/materialistic way means fooling yourself. If you believe in omnipotent beings that are capable of destroying the entire world or at least you and your city unless they get their cup of fresh blood, you will do quite a lot to please them. [0] https://acoup.blog/ https://acoup.blog/