I don't know when the first HPV strain was identified (I've looked online), but I know that the link between high risk HPV and cervical cancer was discovered in 1976. Now how long has the virus been around? Who knows. I suspect it has been around as long as humans have been on earth, but I don't know.
Just so you know, there are over 100 strains of HPV, 20+ of those affect the genitals (including anus or mouth/throat). There are two types of HPV: high risk and low risk. Low risk HPV can lead to genital warts. High risk HPV, if undetected and/or untreated can lead to cancer.
I was just reading a little bit about the history, and cervical cancer (which is mostly caused by HPV) has been studied since the time of Hippocrates (400 B.C.)
Links to sex were found in the early 20th century when researchers found a higher prevalence of cervical cancer in prostitutes and almost nonexistent cervical cancer in nuns.
So it's been around for ages . . . it's just a new "hot topic" because of the vaccine and how aggressively it's being marketed.
Pickel's answer is great except that it doesn't leave room for all the other strains of HPV that don't cause either genital warts of cervical (or other) cancers. ALL warts are caused by HPV, regardless of where they are on the body, and you can be pretty sure that warts have been around for a long long time, lol.
I'm sure the virus has been around for ages, it's only the discovery of the connection between it and cervical cancer that is relatively new.
