Are you speaking specifically in regards to the English language with this question?

The OED says that 'ha ha' as an interjection meaning 'hearty or open amusement or representing laughter' dates back to Old English, or before 1149 (as they define the Old English period). So it has been around for some time.

In Orwell's essay on boys' weeklies, Orwell complains that

sometimes a quarter of a column or there-abouts consists of ‘Ha! ha! ha!’

That he would pick this out as a noticeable feature may indicate that it was unusual.