First Kiss: Unearthing the Origins of Romance In 2008, archaeologists Sophie Lund Rasmussen and Troels Pank Arboll uncovered humanity's first kiss. Their own love story began with a chance encounter at a university pub, eventually leading to marriage. Discussing a genetic study during dinner in 2022, they questioned the origins of kissing, challenging the prevailing theory and drawing from ancient Sumerian and Akkadian texts. Their findings, published in Science, pinpointed the earliest documentation of kissing to 2400 B.C. in Mesopotamia, shifting the focus away from a specific region as the birthplace of kissing. This revelation challenges traditional beliefs about the history of romance and human behavior, shedding new light on the origins and cultural significance of the kiss.