A handshake, a high-five, a kiss — it turns out all of these gestures, which use one of our most intimate senses, touch, can be traced back through human history.
“Close touch at once shows that someone is willing to be close and vulnerable,” Justin R. Garcia, a CTRD Research Fellow at The Kinsey Institute, says. “Without touch, many individuals fail to develop and thrive, and in some cases, have severe behavioral abnormalities.”
‘Nice to meet you’
The act of hand shaking can be traced back to ancient Greece. It’s believed that this gesture started as a sign of peace — the open right hand indicated that an individual was not carrying a weapon.
‘Up top’
The history of high-fiving is less clear. We know that it was preceded by low-fiving, first common in African American culture during the 1940s. But when did high become the new low? Sporting giants like Magic Johnson have claimed credit. He has said before that he invented the high-five at Michigan State University. Either way, we do know that the name itself comes from raising five fingers high, thus, the high-five.
‘Pucker up’
Kissing wasn’t always as commonplace as it is now. Anthropologists who have studied kissing believe that it was only used in highly developed civilizations, such as ancient Greece (think Homer’s epics).
“Some scholars have suggested that it may have evolved from parent-child feeding practices, where parents might pre-chew food and spit it into a young child’s mouth,” Garcia says.
Sounds appetizing, right?
“Kissing can also be a deal-breaker,” he says. “In one study, nearly 50 percent of college students had kissed someone and known instantly they weren’t a good romantic match. Often, a kiss reveals much more about romantic and sexual chemistry than one might expect.”
