Final answer:
The ceremony performed by the Aztecs where they cut out the hearts of sacrificial victims to feed the sun and enable the day to dawn again was known as ritual human sacrifice.
Step-by-step explanation:
The ceremony performed by the Aztecs where they cut out the hearts of sacrificial victims to feed the sun and enable the day to dawn again was known as ritual human sacrifice. This rite was widely practiced in Mesoamerica and had roots going back to the Olmec culture and likely earlier. Human sacrifices would occur on important days identified on the Aztec calendar and during the commemoration of new temples or the expansion of existing ones.
During the ceremony, sacrificial victims were led up the steps of the temple platform, where they would be laid on a sacrificial stone. Their chests would be opened using a sharp flint or obsidian knife, and their hearts would be removed by the executioner. The bodies would then be tossed down the steps of the temple.
Human sacrifice was an integral part of the Aztec religious beliefs, which emphasized the importance of continual sacrifice to keep the world functioning. The sacrifices were thought to appease the gods, ensure that the sun stayed in the sky, the harvests continued to be bountiful, illnesses were kept at bay, and the military power of the Aztecs remained supreme.