Why did early people originate forms of sacrifice and rituals

Most early forms of sacrifice and ritual were connected to fertility myths.Ancient cultures observed that life tended to work in cycles–there is day and night, annual seasonal change, and of course birth and death.Ancient cultures saw these things as being dependent on one another and often created myths involving a deity that would die in the winter only to be brought back to life in the spring.Because of this association between death and life, many ancient cultures believed that killing an animal or human being could help ensure the success of the crop.If you are interested in the rituals of ancient cultures you should read Sir James Frazer’s “The Golden Bough.”