Katharina Buczek
A new study published in Science suggests that humans began locking lips much earlier than we previously thought. Approximately 1,000 years earlier, to be exact.
The research was conducted by scientists from Oxford University and the University of Copenhagen in Demark, who analyzed the writings of early Mesopotamian societies. And findings within these texts led the team to suggest that the earliest recorded kiss actually occurred 4,500 years ago.
Ancient Mesopotamia refers to the cultures that lived between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in what is now present-day Syria and Iraq. And Mesopotamians wrote on clay tablets using cuneiform script.
“Many thousands of these clay tablets have survived to this day, and they contain clear examples that kissing was considered a part of romantic intimacy in ancient times, just as kissing could be part of friendships and family members’ relations,” explained Dr. Troels Pank Arbøll from the University of Copenhagen.
Prior to this discovery, experts believed that the first human kiss occurred in South Asia approximately 3,500 years ago before the practice eventually made its way to other areas.
However, the research team suggests this previous belief was inaccurate.
“Kissing should not be regarded as a custom that originated exclusively in any single region and spread from there, but rather appears to have been practiced in multiple ancient cultures over several millennia,” Arbøll said.
Even research into chimpanzees and bonobos– the closest living relatives to the human race– has revealed that both species participate in kissing. So, the team believes this finding suggests that kissing could be a fundamental human behavior.
“Explaining why it can be found across cultures,” noted Dr. Sophie Lund Rasmussen from the University of Oxford.
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