Ancient Apes May Have Invented Kissing

2 days ago7 min read4 comments

The impulse to lean in for a kiss, that intimate gesture we so often attribute to complex human emotion, might actually be a relic passed down through millions of years, a whisper from our ancient ape ancestors. According to groundbreaking research from the University of Oxford, the roots of romantic and social kissing likely extend back a staggering 16.9 to 21. 5 million years ago, long before Homo sapiens walked the Earth.This isn't merely about tracing a behavior; it's about understanding the deep, biological imperatives that drive connection. The study, which conducted the first comprehensive analysis of kissing behaviors across a wide spectrum of great apes, including our closest relatives, bonobos and chimpanzees, found that this is not a uniquely human invention.Bonobos, for instance, are famously prolific with their mouth-to-mouth contact, often using it to soothe tensions, reinforce social bonds, and reconcile after a conflict, a practice that feels profoundly familiar when you listen to people talk about the role of a kiss in their own relationships. Chimpanzees, while less frequent, also engage in this behavior, suggesting a common thread in our shared evolutionary lineage.It forces you to wonder: what does this mean for how we perceive love and affection? Is the flutter in your stomach before a first kiss a uniquely human experience, or is it an ancient, primal echo of a social glue that has held communities together for millennia? I spoke with several primatologists who weren't involved in the study, and one reflected that we often fall into the trap of seeing human behavior as the pinnacle of evolution, the most sophisticated version. But this research flips that narrative, suggesting that something as culturally loaded as the kiss has a utilitarian origin in the animal kingdom—it's a tool for communication, for assessing a partner's health through chemical cues in saliva, for saying 'I trust you' without a single word.It's a beautiful, humbling thought. This discovery peels back the layers on our own daily interactions, making you see the simple act of kissing your child goodnight or your partner goodbye in the morning not just as a personal ritual, but as a participation in a biological tradition older than the mountains. It connects us, in a very tangible way, to the vast, intricate tapestry of life from which we emerged, a story written not in history books, but in our very DNA.

#featured

#ancient apes

#kissing

#evolution

#human behavior

#anthropology

#research

Stay Informed. Act Smarter.

Get weekly highlights, major headlines, and expert insights — then put your knowledge to work in our live prediction markets.