Romans practiced a strange form of ancestor worship called death masks. Romans were expected to have great respect for their ancestors, which in some cases meant having death masks made. Each mask would be made after the person's death. They were made by molding wax over the dead ancestors face then letting the mold dry. These masks slowly advanced as time went on. By the first century BC more civilized Romans had replaced wax masks with portrait busts. These portraits became perfect depictions of Roman ancestors. Artists across a huge empire developed many changes in public taste over centuries. This art form focused on realism to create images of perfection in stone and bronze. Romans worked with precious metals, terracotta but favoured
