British Museum4,500-year-old clay tablet depicts a couple kissingBritish Museum
According to researchers from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, and the University of Oxford, UK, the earliest documented kiss was recorded on a clay tablet showing a naked couple having sex 4,500 years ago, in ancient Mesopotamia, the region surrounding the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, now occupied by Iraq and Syria. Written sources from early Mesopotamian societies indicate that kissing was commonplace between lovers, friends, and families in the Middle East. Kissing on the lips may also have accelerated the spread of viruses such as herpes simplex 1, the symptoms of which are mentioned in Mesopotamian medical texts (Science and EurekAlert, May 18).
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