SCC Vessels Were Designed to Worship the Ancestors Discussion

I’m working on a art discussion question and need an explanation and answer to help me learn.

Why did vessel shapes change over time? During the change from Style III to Style IV what happened to the decoration? Is it counterintuitive that the earliest decoration looks “abstract” while the latest “representational”? How so? What can the history of bronze decoration tell us about attempts to find meanings in them? What is taotie???