The Jews had a temple in Jerusalem. At first glance that would appear pretty high church, fairly sterile - made of cedar, overlaid with pure gold. But then think about how it was used. There were daily sacrifices there, dozens of them. They slaughtered goats, sheep, oxen, and doves.
Animal slaughter is a nasty business.
It is smelly and dirty. They splattered the blood on the altar as part of the ritual. But the practice goes back even earlier than the temple. In Exodus we read about Moses presenting the book of the covenant to the people. He sacrificed oxen and took half of the blood and dashed it against the altar.