Human sacrifice (sometimes called ritual murder), has been practiced on a number of different occasions and in many different cultures. The various rationales behind human sacrifice are the same that motivate religious … See more

Ancient Near East
Successful agricultural cities had already emerged in the Near East by the Neolithic, some protected … See more

Abrahamic religions
Many traditions of Abrahamic religions such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam consider that God commanded See more

Ritual killings perpetrated by individuals or small groups within a society that denounces them as simple murder are difficult to classify as either "human sacrifice" or mere … See more

In Greek polytheism, Tantalus was condemned to Tartarus for eternity for the human sacrifice of his son Pelops. See more

The Americas
Brazil
In the city of Altamira, State of Pará, several children were raped, with their genitalia mutilated for what appear to be ritual purposes, and then stabbed to death, See more

In India there is a festival where a person is chosen as a "sacrifice", and is believed by participants to die during the ritual, although they actually remain alive and are "raised" from … See more