execution of kiss-feeding and human kisses (e.g. French kiss); in the former, the tongue is used to push food from mother to child with the child receiving both the mother's food and tongue in sucking movements, and the latter simply forgoes the premasticated food. In fact, observations across various species and cultures confirms that the act of kissing and premastication have most likely evolved from the similar relationship-based feeding behaviours. History and culture Written records of premastication have been found in Ancient Egypt, though the practice likely extends back into prehistoric times to non-human ancestors. For instance, in the Ancient Egyptian Ebers medical papyrus, a mother was instructed to give a medical remedy to a child through premastication. In the fifth century A.D. Roman culture, premastication of infants' food by caretakers was also common, though the lack of sanitation along with the practice contributed to infant mortality. Infants in Medieval Europe were fed an assortment of mashed, premasticated food or bread softened with liquids. Due to attitudes in Western medicine in the 1940s and 1950s, Native American and Fijian cultures and societies were strongly dissuaded from premastication due to concerns about the hygiene of the practice. However, the lack of knowledge regarding premastication and its prohibition by missionaries and doctors instead caused severe anemia in the infants of the population, or resulted in malnourished infants and children deprived of nourishment. Although less prevalent in modern post-industrial Western societies, the offering of premasticated foods to infants is found in many traditional cultures and offers their infants numerous benefits. In North America, premastication is still commonly used by Black and Hispanic mothers, and commonly used by women of Inuit and Aleut peoples. In many human cultures, the act of premastication and direct mouth-to-mouth feeding is linked with the showing of affection, known as kiss feeding. In the Manus cultures of the Admiralty Islands, the act of premastication has been used by women to remind children and descendants of their obligations to her. Some human cultures such as the people of Papua New Guinea in fact use mouth to mouth contact primarily for feeding premasticated food, with sexual kissing only observed after the arrival of Europeans. This form of feeding is believed to have evolved into the modern human acts of kissing and French kissing. Many Western societies have strong aversions toward premastication, which have been compared to their similar criticisms and aversion