A new study suggests that the act of kissing may have originated 21 million years ago, connecting ape ancestors and early humans like Neanderthals in the practice. The study’s lead author, Matilda Brindle, an evolutionary biologist at Oxford, highlighted the unusual nature of kissing, describing it as an ‘evolutionary conundrum.’ Despite its potential risks, such as disease transmission, kissing doesn’t seem to provide any obvious reproductive or survival benefits. This mysterious aspect intrigued Brindle and her colleagues, leading them to investigate its origins.
Kissing is not a behavior that can be traced back in the fossil record. To study its evolution, the researchers analyzed modern primate species like chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans, and gorillas. By using phylogenetic analysis, they could infer when the practice of kissing may have emerged in ancestral primates. The results of the study suggest that kissing likely originated in large apes around 21.5 million to 16.9 million years ago, indicating that Neanderthals and other extinct human relatives might have engaged in kissing as well.
While the model developed by the researchers sheds light on the evolutionary timeline of kissing, it doesn’t answer the question of why or how the behavior evolved. Kissing serves various purposes, including mate assessment, bonding, and social tension reduction, among others. The study also emphasizes the lack of data on kissing outside of ape species, underscoring the need for further research in this area.
The study implies that the act of kissing is an ancient and evolved trait in humans. However, the behavior is not universal across all cultures. Only 46% of societies document the practice of kissing. This variability suggests that the usefulness of kissing may depend on specific contexts and cultural norms, highlighting the flexible nature of primates, including humans.
Adriano Reis e Lameira, an evolutionary psychologist and primatologist, remarked that kissing goes beyond mouth-to-mouth contact, emphasizing that the majority of human kisses do not involve this form of interaction. Despite this complexity, the study lays the groundwork for understanding kissing as an evolved trait with roots dating back millions of years.
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