The Mesopotamians kissed — and scientists finally speak.
Recent research suggests humans kissed on the lips 1,000 years earlier than previously thought.
Researchers from the University of Oxford and the University of Copenhagen in Denmark recently analyzed written sources from early Mesopotamian societies, which led them to conclude that humanity’s earliest recorded kiss was 4,500 years ago.
“In ancient Mesopotamia, which was the name of the early human cultures that existed between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in present-day Iraq and Syria, people wrote cuneiform on clay tablets,” says Dr Troels Pank Arbøll of the University of Copenhagen, explained SWNS.
“Many hundreds of those clay tablets have survived to at the present time, they usually contain clear examples of how in precedent days kissing was considered a part of romantic intimacy, just as kissing could be a part of friendship and relationships between relations.”
![Kissing 'began in the Middle East 4,500 years ago' - 1,000 years earlier than previously thought, according to research](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/NYPICHPDPICT000011336286.jpg?w=1024)
There have been arrangements published within the journal Science.
Experts previously believed that the primary human mouth-to-lip act occurred 3,500 years ago in a selected a part of South Asia, suspecting that the practice eventually spread to other regions – a view disputed by the research team.
“Kissing mustn’t be considered a custom that originated in a single region alone and spread from there, but relatively seems to have been practiced in lots of ancient cultures for several millennia,” Arbøll noted.
“In reality, research on bonobos and chimpanzees, humans’ closest living relatives, has shown that each species engage in kissing, which may suggest that the practice of kissing is a core human behavior, explaining why it could be found across cultures,” added Dr. Sophie. Lund Rasmussen from the University of Oxford.
![male and female couple kissing](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/NYPICHPDPICT000011336285.jpg?w=1024)
While kissing is a very important advancement in human social and sexual behavior, researchers say the habit may have inadvertently played a task within the transmission of microorganisms, potentially causing the spread of viruses amongst humans.
But don’t blame kissing for speeding up the spread of the herpes simplex virus, scientists warn.
“There’s a considerable collection of medical texts from Mesopotamia, a few of which mention an illness with symptoms resembling the herpes simplex virus,” Arbøll said.
He added that ancient medical texts were influenced by cultural and spiritual concepts, so it will be important to keep in mind that they can not be taken at face value.
“Even so, it’s price noting some similarities between the disease referred to as buʾshanu in ancient medical texts from Mesopotamia and the symptoms brought on by herpes simplex infections,” continued Arbøll.
“Bu’shan disease was mainly situated in or across the mouth and throat, and symptoms included blisters in or across the mouth, which is one in all the dominant symptoms of herpes infection.”
![Kissing 'began in the Middle East 4,500 years ago' - 1,000 years earlier than previously thought, according to research](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/NYPICHPDPICT000011336280.jpg?w=1024)
Rasmussen added: “If the practice of kissing was widespread and well established in lots of ancient societies, the effect of kissing on pathogen transmission must probably have been kind of constant.”
Recently, a social media influencer announced that she had cut off a part of her tongue to “improve” her kissing skills – perhaps to boost questions for future researchers.