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The first in the world was done 4,500 years ago. PHOTO/ THE SUN
ROME – A group of scientists found evidence that shows the first recorded kiss occurred 4,500 years ago.
A study published in the journal Science shows evidence of kissing in the ancient Middle East, among early Mesopotamian societies, documented in ancient texts from 2,500 BC.
Researchers also show evidence that the initial spread of oral diseases such as cold sores may have been caused by ancient kisses.
Previous hypotheses suggested that the earliest evidence of kissing came from ancient India in 1,500 BC, but ancient Mesopotamian texts cited by the latest research suggest it was a romantic practice in the Middle East.
“In ancient Mesopotamia, which is the name for the ancient human culture that existed between the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers in present-day Iraq and Syria, people wrote with cuneiform script (wedge-shaped signs) on clay tablets,” he said
Dr. Troels Pank Arbøll, an expert on medical history in Mesopotamia at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark as reported by The SUN.
“Thousands of these clay tablets still survive today, and contain clear examples of how kissing was considered part of romantic intimacy in ancient times, just as kissing could be part of friendships and family relationships,”
Separate research suggests that bonobos also kiss with romantic intentions, while chimpanzees have been seen to kiss platonically.
Scientists say these practices, from our closest biological relations, suggest humans may have been doing them for a long time.
“Therefore, kissing should not be considered a custom that originated exclusively in one region and spread from there, but rather appears to have been practiced in various ancient cultures for several millennia.” emphasized Dr. Troels Pank Arbøll.
The new study also says that kissing may play a role in spreading the type of herpes virus that causes cold sores and diphtheria, a contagious bacterial infection.
It is generally thought that the ancient diseases described in ancient texts, could be the same infections.
Dr. Arbøll said: “There are a large number of medical texts from Mesopotamia, some of which mention diseases with symptoms reminiscent of herpes simplex virus 1.”
(wbs)