Kissing's Origins Go Back 20M Years - Takeaways - MDSpire

Kissing's Origins Go Back 20M Years

Bayesian phylogenetic modeling suggests kissing emerges deep in primate evolution and persists across multiple ape lineages, including extinct hominins.

  • By

  • Kathryn Wighton

  • February 3, 2026

  • 3 min

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  • 1

    Kissing likely evolved in the common ancestor of large apes between 21.5 and 16.9 million years ago.

  • 2

    The study used Bayesian phylogenetic modeling to estimate that Neanderthals had a high probability of engaging in kissing.

  • 3

    Kissing was defined as non-agonistic, directed oral-to-oral contact without food transfer, excluding other similar behaviors.

  • 4

    Phylogenetic analyses indicated that kissing's distribution across species is better explained by shared ancestry than independent evolution.

  • 5

    The study faced limitations due to sparse data, uneven taxa representation, and the binary classification of kissing behaviors.

Original Source(s)

Kissing's Origins Go Back 20M Years

  • by Kathryn Wighton

  • February 3, 2026

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