Maya society was organised as independent city states, the local political and religious elites could independently initiate human sacrifices as they saw fit. The common cause for temple sacrifices in many cities was the occurrence of "pestilences, dissensions, or droughts or the like ills". In such cases, slaves were usually purchased and after a variety of rituals were anointed with blue dye and either shot with arrows through the heart or held on an altar while the priest swiftly removed the heart using a ceremonial knife.
