Why do we 'kiss', where did the trend of kissing come from

Written By DNA Web Team | Updated: Jun 08, 2022, 05:34 PM IST

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If we talk about the first kissing culture, then it has to be Rome where probably the kissing culture began. They had three different types of kisses.

Well, we all have been into the act of kissing sometime or the other during our lifetime. Kissing is more associated with the Western culture. However, kissing one's child, in a show of affection, is a practise performed the worldover. From a peck on the lips, to French kisses and smooching, all are a show of affection and love.

A simple kiss evokes emotions of love, care and admiration. It also causes excitement in the body. Some researchers believe that kissing began millions of years ago as a result of mouth-to-mouth feeding. While the true origin of kissing remains a mystery, historians have found in India the earliest references to the practice.

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Major texts in the Vedic Sanskrit literature suggest an early form of kissing. Dating from 1500 BC, they describe the custom of rubbing and pressing noses together. "Eventually, someone slipped and found that the lips were very sensitive and found it pleasurable. That's one theory on how it started," Texas A&M University anthropologist Vaughn Bryant can be quoted.

Why does kissing cause excitement in body?

Kissing by pressing our lips together is an almost uniquely human behaviour. Be it lip-on-lip kissing or any other types of kisses, the moment is about being close or intimate with each other. When two people kiss each other on the lips, then first of all you get a very unique feeling of touch. This happens because your lips are very sensitive.

During the time of kissing, the stimulation emanating from the kissing of many lips sends many positive waves to our brain. Due to this, our brain marks kissing and lip stimulation as a feeling of love and protection from the time of childhood. So in this way, when we want to express ourselves, it is possible that we do so through our mouth.

When, where and how the first kiss likely happened

British biologist Desmond Morris did some research on lipstick. He showed men several pictures of women's faces and asked which of them were the most attractive. He got the same answer over and over again. The men selected the women whose lips were the most pink, the most coloured. So there is something that draws our attention to the lips and many species use the colour red as a sign of their sexuality.

The earliest examples of kissing of any kind are found in Indian Vedic culture about 2500 or 3500 years ago. Which showed that just below the eye there are sebaceous glands (oil glands) that produce a unique smell for each person.

In ancient India, kissing dates back to 1500 BC, where there was the custom of rubbing and pressing noses together. Eventually, someone slipped and found that the lips were very sensitive and found it pleasurable. That's when kissing began.

But if we talk about the first kissing culture, then for that we have to look towards Rome. Rome is where probably the kissing culture started. They had three different types of kisses. One of these was the savium kiss that was based on the word salava and is still used today as the French kiss.

However, there are some places where people still consider kissing bad.