World’s oldest recorded kiss might have happened 4,500 years ago in Middle East, study finds.
Humanity’s earliest record of kissing dates back about 4,500 years in the ancient Middle East, 1,000 years earlier than previously thought, according to researchers.
Scientists have highlighted evidence that suggests kissing was practised in some of the earliest Mesopotamian societies and documented in ancient texts from 2500BC that have been largely overlooked.
The authors' findings were published this week in the academic journal 'Science', and showed evidence that "kissing on the mouth is attested to in ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt", as early as 2,500 BC.