Very true. Another major factor overlooked in this discussion is the perpetual warfare that went on between Mayan rulers: the endless captive-takings, ritual sacrifices and depletions of treasuries. This was a huge factor in the demise of the "high" Mayan culture but Mayan descendants are everywhere in the Yucatan, Guatemala, Belize, etc.
Also not mentioned is that for some reason many large Mayan cities like Caracol depended mainly on stored runoff water kept in small reservoirs hacked out of the native limestone. This storage simply wasn't sufficient to sustain a large urban population through any prolonged drought. Exhausted by warfare and with only a slim water surplus on hand, Maya civilization was already in big trouble when the drought came.
I wasn't aware that the Maya went in for this kind of thing. I knew the Aztecs did, but I was of the impression that they were more blood-thirsty than most. I guess it was just a slight difference in degree rather than a major difference between the cultures.