"It was hugely controversial back then, but a 2010 study of the Neanderthal genome later revealed evidence that her assertion had been correct: traces of Neanderthal DNA are sprinkled throughout our genome, hinting at romance - or perhaps conquest and rape. Now a new study, led by Oxford University and published in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior,sheds even more light onto the mystery with an exciting conclusion: humans and Neanderthals very likely engaged in some makeout sessions."
"The team collected observational data from modern-day primates in Africa, Europe and Asia that have been seen smooching each other, such as chimpanzees, orangutans and bonobos. They then treated the act of kissing as an evolutionary trait, and used Bayesian statistical modeling to model kissing behavior in the family tree of primate ancestors. Their result? That kissing is an ancient practice among large apes, first arising somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 million years ago. And among those kissing cousins, they found, were the Neanderthals."
Kissing likely evolved among large apes roughly 20 million years ago. Observational data from chimpanzees, orangutans and bonobos document smooching behaviors across Africa, Europe and Asia. Researchers modeled kissing as an evolutionary trait using Bayesian statistical methods mapped onto the primate family tree. The analysis indicates that Neanderthals belonged to those ape lineages that practiced kissing. Human and Neanderthal genomes show shared oral microbes and traces of Neanderthal DNA, consistent with intimate contact that could include kissing or saliva exchange. The evidence supports the likelihood that humans and Neanderthals engaged in direct mouth-to-mouth contact.
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