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(#5) Kissing Is Described In Numerous Ancient Texts In Various Cultures
The Kama Sutra is not the only text to depict kissing. Homer, the famous Greek poet, described King Priam kissing the warrior Achilles's hand to beg for his son's body back. Another Greek writer, Herodotus, talks about Persians kissing each other in order of rank. It is in the Old Testament, too, when Jacob kisses his father and steals his brother's birthright.
In India, one poem from around 1000 BCE described romantic kissing as such: "She set her mouth to my mouth and made a noise and that produced pleasure in me."
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(#8) Kissing Returned At The End Of The 11th Century, More Romantic Than Ever
Luckily, the kissing drought did not last long, and the well was replenished in the 11th century with the rise in popularity of courtly love. Specifically, romantic love that individuals found - not arranged courtships. The tale of Romeo and Juliet is emblematic of such a turn in thought.
The play "sought to remove courtship from the control of family and society and celebrate romantic love as a liberating, self-determining, and potentially subversive force," according to Psychology Today.
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(#2) In Some Cultures, Kissing Is Seen As A Sign Of Respect, Not Romance
For some cultures, the primary function of kissing can is to show social status and deference. In places where romantic kissing is uncommon, like among certain cultural groups in Central America, kissing is seen as a sign of respect. In the Ethiopian highland community of Amhara, some relatives kiss on the cheeks after being away for a while, and some kiss in order of status (those higher up in society are kissed first). Servants and children kiss the feet of their higher-ups and elders.
In these cultures, kissing is first and foremost a show of respect and will most likely not be practiced romantically.
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(#6) The Romans May Have Made Kissing More Widespread
The Greeks may have learned about kissing from the Indians, but the Romans really took it to the next level. The Romans kissed everyone: partners, children, parents, superiors. They had very specific rules and designations for these different types of kisses, as well. According to Psychology Today: "They distinguished a kiss on the hand or cheek (osculum) from a kiss on the lips (basium) and a deep or passionate kiss (savolium)."
With these terms in place, the Romans could transcend kissing boundaries and practice all sorts of kissing, from the strictly platonic to the sensually passionate.
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(#3) Romantic Kissing Might Have Evolved From The Way Mother Birds Feed Their Babies
Be prepared to be slightly grossed out - kissing may be a learned behavior from "kiss-feeding," the way mother birds feed their young by first chewing the food and then spitting it out into the mouths of their offspring. Some cultures even still practice kiss-feeding, but not romantic or cultural kissing. According to Psychology Today:
Kissing could also be a culturally determined form of grooming behavior, or, at least in the case of deep or erotic kissing, a representation, substitute for, and complement to, penetrative intercourse.
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(#11) Kissing Is Not Unique To Human Beings
Surprise! Human beings are not the only animals to kiss. Apes kiss each other; dogs and cats lick and cuddle each other as do other animals; even snails "engage in antennal play." Although these animals might only be grooming one another or using it as some form of communication, the indication is some sort of bonding experience.
Bonding is the reason humans engage in similar behavior, whether or not that is romantic kissing or otherwise.
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Many scientists have studied for many years whether kissing is an acquired or an instinct. The truth is that not everyone kisses. Anthropologists have published that people in many parts of the world have not actually been kissing for thousands of years. A new study found that the romantic kiss does not exist in half of the human cultures, and it is often absent among animals.
In certain social cultures, the kiss is of great significance. In many hunter-gatherer groups, you can't see a trace of kissing or kissing desire at all. Some ethnic groups even think the kiss is disgusting. The random tool lists 11 cultures in history where humans did not kiss each other.
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