Kissing: nature’s cure-all, for most
Published: February 12, 2006
Some cultures in Africa and the Himalayas don’t believe in it.
Some indigenous groups in the northern extremes of North America and in the Asian Pacific don’t do it the same way you do it.
And 40 percent of U.S. women believe they are so good at it, they’re “unforgettable.”
It’s first base. Locking lips. Snogging. Mashing.
Whatever you call it, kissing is largely universal, with 90 percent of the world’s population engaging in some form of it.
While there are different kisses — greeting kisses, show-of-respect kisses, familial kisses and passionate kisses — kissing has become as ingrained in our lives as breathing.
“Kissing can be a bonding ritual,” said Robin Hicks, an anthropology instructor at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind. “The human species is kind of wired that way — humans need other humans.”
Americans spend an average of two weeks of their lives kissing; the average woman will kiss 79 guys before marriage; and a man who kisses his lady goodbye before leaving for work generally has a higher income than the guy who doesn’t, according to Andréa Demirjian’s “Kissing: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About One of Life’s Sweetest Pleasures.” And in the book’s survey, when people were asked which they’d give up — kissing or sex — 63 percent said sex, 21 percent would give up kissing and 16 percent said the question was too hard to answer.
“A kiss is really about that intimate connection between two people that no one else can share. It gives you the feeling of closeness, feeling cared for and cherished,” Demirjian said. “That’s what a kiss does when we’re kissed as a child by our loved ones — it makes us feel safe. And as an adult, it’s the same way as well as a whole host of other things, like being desired and feeling attractive.”
Although no one knows exactly how the act of smooching began, there are various theories dating to the caveman era. The lip-lock could have stemmed from cave mothers passing their already-chewed food to the mouths of babies, or it might have been the natural evolution from sucking on a mother’s breast for nourishment, according to Demirjian’s book.
Demirjian actually believes a third hypothesis — kissing is a derivative of cavemen smelling the breath of their prospective cave women.
“There is a theory that cavemen would smell the saliva of women to see if they’re healthy,” she said. “I can’t imagine their breath was fresh, but they probably did eat very simple diets.”
The first documented records of kissing date to Vedic Sanskrit texts of India in 1500 B.C., according to Vaughn Bryant, an anthropology professor at Texas A&M University.
When Alexander the Great’s army conquered parts of northern India in 326 B.C., they learned about kissing and spread the practice of swapping spit wherever they went — the Middle Eastern countries of Persia, Syria and Assyria, and then to Greece and Rome, Bryant said.
Romans embraced kissing and started many traditions that are still intact: kissing at the altar and kissing the rings of officials and leaders.
Roman men also began the practice of kissing their wives when they returned home for the day, but not because they were glad to see them; they wanted to check if their ladies were drinking wine while they were away, Demirjian said.
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