Why are humans depicted in paintings from ancient civilizations like different than now? Weren’t there artists who could paint realistic paintings?

Question

Weren’t there artists at that time who could draw humans for what they actually looked like. For instance, look at the paintings of kings from the 17th Century or before.

In: Other

Answer 1

There’s styles people liked throughout the ages, but mostly remember that artists couldn’t have as much time and materials to practise as today.
Lots of the good ones were sponsored most of their lives, before that became a habit the ones available might not be as good.