Political rumors sometimes centered around sacrifice and in doing so, aimed to liken individuals to barbarians and show that the individual had become uncivilized. Human sacrifice also became a marker and defining characteristic of magic and bad religion.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Rives |first=J. |year=1995 |title=Asante: Human sacrifice among pagans and christians |journal=The Journal of Roman Studies |volume=85 |pages=65–85|doi=10.1017/S0075435800074761 }}</ref>
{{see also|Parthenon Frieze}}
==== Carthage ====
There is literary evidence for infant sacrifice being practiced in [[Carthage]], however, current anthropological analyses have not found physical evidence to back up these claims. There is a Tophet, where infant remains have been found, but after current analytical techniques, it has been concluded this area is more representative of the naturally high infant mortality rate.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Schwartz |first1=J. H. |last2=Houghton |first2=F. D. |last3=Bondioli |first3=L. |last4=Macchiarelli |first4=R. |date=2012 |title=Bones, teeth, and estimating age of perinates: Carthaginian infant sacrifice revisited |url=http://antiquity.ac.uk/ant/086/ant0860738.htm |journal=Antiquity |volume=86 |issue=333 |pages=738–745|doi=10.1017/S0003598X00047888 |s2cid=162977647 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Schwartz |first1=J. H. |last2=Houghton |first2=F. |last3=Macchiarelli |first3=R. |last4=Bondioli |first4=L. |title=Skeletal Remains from Punic Carthage Do Not Support Systematic Sacrifice of Infants |journal=PLOS ONE |year=2010 |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=1–12 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0009177 |pmid=20174667 |pmc=2822869 |bibcode=2010PLoSO...5.9177S |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Schwartz |first1=J. H. |last2=Houghton |first2=F. D. |last3=Bondioli |first3=L. |last4=Macchiarelli |first4=R. |date=2017 |title=Two tales of one city: data, inference and Carthaginian infant sacrifice |journal=Antiquity |publisher=Antiquity Publications Ltd. |volume=91 |issue=356 |pages=442–454 |doi=10.15184/aqy.2016.270 |s2cid=164242410 |via=JSTOR|doi-access=free }}</ref>
