When and Who Gave the First Kiss in History

The first kiss on the mouth did not happen between lovers, but probably between primates, ancestors of today’s great apes, about 20 million years ago. The finding was made by researchers from the University of Oxford in the UK and the Florida Institute of Technology in the US, and published on Wednesday, 19th, in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior. The scientists aimed to investigate when the habit of kissing on the mouth began since, from an evolutionary point of view, the custom does not bring any obvious benefit to the survival of the species; on the contrary, it could actually spread diseases. However, humans, chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans, and gorillas all kiss each other on the mouth – a strong indication that the habit could have been inherited from a common ancestor.