[Bernard Marx]

All due respect, but that book is 30 years out of date and was probably based on much earlier thinking. That 30 years encompassed the biggest surge ever in Mesoamerican archaeology, including the ability to read most of the Mayan pictographs.

Mayan culture probably collapsed as a result of incessant inter-city warfare combined with a long period of severe drought, according to modern sources. While they certainly performed plenty of bloody sacrifices they were for religious purposes, mainly related to rainfall and crop fertility. The majority of the victims were prisoners of war, often aristocrats from opposing cities. Any cannibalism I know of involved prisoners and was strictly ritualistic.

Considering the non-cannibalistic excesses of the Roman circus and the persecution of Christians and many others, it's hard for me to vioew the Maya as much more barbarous.

[bboop]

They were barbarians. You can rewrite history all you want, but it doesn't change history.