Honestly, if you're asking when was the first blow job, you're looking for a date that doesn't exist. There wasn't a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Nobody wrote down "Day 1: Tried something new today" in a dusty cave diary. But we can get pretty close by looking at biology and the literal dirt of history.
It’s older than our species. That’s the short answer.
If you want the long answer, we have to look at our cousins. Bonobos and chimpanzees do it. They don’t do it for reproduction, obviously. They do it for social bonding, conflict resolution, or just because it feels good. Since we share a common ancestor with these primates from roughly six million years ago, it's highly likely that oral stimulation has been part of the hominid "toolkit" since before we were even Homo sapiens. It’s a biological legacy, not a modern invention.
The Archaeological Paper Trail
We can't find fossilized DNA of an act, but we can find the art. Art is where humans brag.
The most famous "early" evidence comes from the Moche civilization in what is now Peru. These people were prolific. Between 100 CE and 800 CE, they created thousands of ceramic vessels—often called "sex pots"—that depicted every imaginable sexual act in vivid, literal detail. These weren't tucked away in a "red light" district; they were likely part of everyday life or ritual. One specific ceramic piece clearly shows a woman performing fellatio on a man.
But wait. It goes back further.
In the 1930s, an archaeologist named René Neuville discovered the "Ain Sakhri Lovers" figurine in a cave near Bethlehem. It dates back to the Natufian period, roughly 11,000 years ago. While it’s a bit abstract—it’s a pebble carved into two people entwined—many historians argue it represents the earliest depiction of a sexual encounter that isn't just "man plus woman equals baby." It’s about intimacy.
Why the Ancient Egyptians Were Obsessed
If you want some really weird "firsts," look at Egyptian mythology. We aren't just talking about people here; we're talking about gods.
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The Egyptian creation myth involves the god Atum. According to the Pyramid Texts (which are about 4,000 years old), Atum created the world through an act of self-pleasuring or, in some interpretations, oral self-stimulation. To the Egyptians, this wasn't "dirty." It was cosmic. It was the spark of life.
There’s also the Turin Erotic Papyrus. This thing is basically a 3,000-year-old comic book found in Deir el-Medina. It’s wild. It shows various sexual encounters, including oral sex, often involving people who look like they’re having a very chaotic, very human time. It proves that by 1150 BCE, the "blow job" was common enough to be part of the era's satire and erotica.
Roman Taboos and Greek Nuance
The Romans were weird about it. You might think they were "anything goes," but they were actually quite rigid about power dynamics.
In Ancient Rome, the "active" partner was fine, but the "passive" partner—the one performing the act—was often looked down upon. They had a specific word for it: fellare. It’s where we get the word "fellatio."
- Social Status: In Rome, performing oral sex was considered "polluting" the mouth, which was supposed to be used for oratory and politics.
- The Greeks: They were a bit more relaxed but still viewed it through the lens of power and mentorship.
- The Graffiti: If you walk through the ruins of Pompeii today, you’ll see "advertisements" for these services carved right into the stone walls. It wasn't a secret. It was a business.
It’s a massive misconception that people in the past were "purer" than us. They just didn't have TikTok to talk about it.
The Medieval Silence
Then things got quiet. Not because people stopped doing it, but because people started writing down that you shouldn't do it.
After the fall of Rome, the rise of the Catholic Church in Europe changed the narrative. Theologians like Thomas Aquinas started categorizing sins. Anything that didn't lead to "procreation" was labeled "against nature." For hundreds of years, oral sex was lumped into the broad category of "sodomy."
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Did people stop? No.
We know this because the "Penitentials"—the manuals used by priests to give out penance—were incredibly specific. If a priest has to ask a peasant, "Did you do [X] with your mouth?" and assign ten days of fasting for it, you can bet your life the peasants were doing [X]. The existence of the law is proof of the "crime."
The Modern "Re-Discovery"
If we skip ahead to the Kinsey Reports in the 1940s and 50s, we see the first time modern science actually asked the question: "How many of you are doing this?"
Alfred Kinsey shocked the world when he revealed that oral sex was incredibly common in mid-century America. People thought they were the only ones doing it. They thought it was a "perversion." Kinsey showed it was a standard part of the human experience.
Culture vs. Biology
There's a theory in evolutionary psychology that fellatio might have evolved as a way for females to "test" the health of a mate or to encourage pair-bonding through the release of oxytocin and dopamine. Dr. Gordon Gallup, an evolutionary psychologist at the University of Albany, has written extensively on the biological functions of human semen and sexual behavior. While his theories are sometimes controversial, they point to a reality where oral sex isn't just a "modern trend" but a deeply rooted biological behavior.
What Most People Get Wrong
The biggest myth is that oral sex is a "luxury" of the modern, liberated era.
Actually, the opposite might be true. Some historians argue that pre-colonial cultures in Africa, the Americas, and the Pacific had much more fluid and accepting views of oral sex until Western missionaries arrived with "modesty" codes.
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Basically, we didn't "invent" it in the 1960s. We just started talking about it again.
Moving Beyond the History
Understanding when was the first blow job helps de-stigmatize it today. It's not a "new" behavior or a "niche" interest. It is one of the oldest forms of human intimacy, predating written language, the wheel, and even our own species.
If you're looking into this for health or relationship reasons, keep a few things in mind:
- Communication is key: Ancient Romans didn't have "enthusiastic consent" as a concept, but we do. It’s the most important part of the act.
- Health matters: Even if the Moche didn't know about STIs, we do. Barriers like dental dams and condoms exist for oral sex for a reason.
- Context: History shows us that sexual acts are often tied to power. In a modern context, the goal should be equality and mutual pleasure.
The history of oral sex is the history of being human. It’s messy, it’s complicated, and it’s a lot older than you think.
Next time you see an ancient statue or a piece of Roman graffiti, remember that the people living thousands of years ago weren't all that different from us. They had the same drives, the same curiosities, and clearly, the same sense of adventure.
To dive deeper into how human sexuality has evolved, you should look into the works of sexologists like Mary Roach or the archival research of the Kinsey Institute. Understanding the biological "why" is just as fascinating as the historical "when." For those interested in the archaeological side, researching "Moche sex pottery" or "Pompeii lupanar graffiti" provides a direct, unfiltered look at how our ancestors lived. It's much more revealing than any history textbook you'll find in a standard classroom.