>>44256344It's not.
Not even the Conquistadors who made the initial accounts that most of those pop culture stuff ie extrapolated from would agree with the degree to which they are bastardized in modern media. One of the most common trends you see in their accounts is that despite the Mesoamericans being pagan, doing devilry, sacrifice, etc; was that their cities were amazing large and clean, their socities complex and orderly, and their art and craft high quality.
For example, here is Cortes describing Tlaxcala, which was a large but not even in the top 5 or probably even top 10 largest Mesoamerican cities:
>The city is indeed so great and marvellous... though I abstain from describing many things... the little.. I.. recount is... incredible... Its houses are as fine and its inhabitants far more numerous.... Its provisions and food are likewise very superior... There are gold, silver and precious stones, and jewellers' shops selling other ornaments made of feathers, as well arranged as in any market.... There is earthenware of many kinds and excellent quality, as fine as any in Spain. Wood, charcoal, medicinal and sweet smelling herbs are sold in large quantities. There are booths for washing your hair and barbers to shave you: there are also public baths... good order and an efficient police system are maintained... they behave as people of sense and reasonThe idea that these socities were orgies of nothing but sacrifices and naked people living in huts around a few pyramids is even more incorrect then the idea that Medivisal Europe was nothing but people being hanged and burned at the stake for witchcraft with shit being dumped out windows into the streets and nobody ever bathing.
And, again, it's not like this is we wuzz revionism either. There's entire mapped cities from archeological surveys like pic related, detailed accounts from both conquistadors and mesoamericans themselves, survivvving poetry, books, and art from them, etc.
