Mayan civilization was originally seen as a pacifistic society that was too focused on non-violent activities like building and Astronomy. Once more accurate translations of the Mayan language became more available, evidence showed that the Mayans were actually the exact opposite of the traditional view. The Mayans were somewhat similar to the classical Greece with city states almost in a continuous state of war against each over. Most of the wars were minor raids for slaves and sacrifices. However, their were causes of wars similar to today. Major reasons for wars between Mayan city states were for domination of rival city states and conquest of territory, civil wars within city states due to dynastic disputes, and revolts by subjected cities against the mother kingdom to secede. Mayans practiced Human Sacrifice like the Aztecs as mentioned above, but the sacrifices of the Mayans were generally targeted towards rival kings. Rival kings were the most prized of all human sacrifices. The Mayan Human Sacrifices were also more deliberate and more elaborate then that of the Aztecs. Several methods towards Mayan Sacrifices involve decapitation, heart removal, and by the Bow and Arrow ritual. The collapse of the Mayan city states is believed to have been caused by the frequent wars in Mayan society.
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