Is smooching fundamentally weird? Kissing is older than humanity. Yet scientists are divided on why we do it and where it came from. Locking lips might be much stranger than it seems.
First kiss ‘was 21 million years ago’
Kissing cousins: The Barbary macaque, also known as the Berber monkey, frequently engages in lip-to-lip contact that resembles kissing, primarily as a form of social greeting and affectionate bonding. Glossary
BCE - Before Common Era. Used as a non-religious alternative to BC (Before Christ).
Mesopotamia - A historical region of the Middle East, mostly centred on modern-day Iraq, Kuwait and parts of Syria and Turkey. The name "Mesopotamia" in Greek means "between rivers" because of the Tigris and Euphrates that run through it.
Evolutionary - Relating to evolution, a process of gradual change that takes place over many generations, during which species of animals, plants, or insects slowly change some of their physical characteristics.
Albatrosses - A type of very large seabird.
Anthropologist - Someone who studies human beings and societies. The word "anthropology" comes from the Greek "anthropos", meaning "human". It developed as a subject in Europe in the 19th century, although some regard the Arab historian Ibn Khaldun as the first anthropologist.
Infancy - The earliest stage of life, from birth to around one year old.
Remnant - A small part that remains from something that once existed or was larger.
Universal - applying to everyone as in 'all human beings are born and die'. This is a universal truth.