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The 1st millennium cein the Iberian peninsula was characterized by a continuous exchange of people, goods, food, technology, etc. which led to the transformation of agriculture and the introduction of new crops there. This paper presents the archaeobotanical evidence of the plants that were introduced there during the Roman and medieval periods. Cereals such as Secale cereale(rye), Pennisetum glaucum(pearl millet) and Oryza sativa(rice) appeared for the first time in the archaeological record together with new fruit taxa, Prunus persica(peach), Morus nigra(black mulberry), Prunus armeniaca(apricot), Cydonia oblonga(quince), Mespilus germanica(medlar) and Citrusspecies, enriching the diet of the Iberian people. There were also fibre plants such as Cannabis sativa(hemp) that are now first recorded. The paper provides the first records of these taxa while awaiting further research that can offer more detailed information on whether some of them may also have been present in earlier periods.

The Phoenician settlement of La Fonteta (Alicante, Spain) was founded in the late 8th cent bcat the mouth of the Río Segura. It has provided one of the most complete archaeobotanical records of all Phoenician Mediterranean sites which points to an agricultural system based on cultivating cereals, pulses and a wide variety of fruits such as grape, fig and pomegranate. These crops then spread to the surrounding indigenous settlements. Apart from integrating new crops, these local and regional indigenous sites progressively began to take part in a Mediterranean-wide network characterised particularly by trade in agricultural produce. The agricultural system of La Fonteta was not new to the Iberian Peninsula, as there is evidence that it arrived earlier at Phoenician colonies along its Mediterranean coastline. One of the most relevant aspects of the archaeobotanical record from La Fonteta is that it represents crafts there, as a large part of the remains correspond to plants which were burnt as fuel in its numerous metal working furnaces.

•This paper offers evidence of the use of plants in funerary context associated with cremation and inhumation rituals in a Phoenician-Punic necropolis.•The role of plant is related to the funerary pyres (fuel), as offerings and food in feasting activities.•The presence of cereal-based preparations has been frequently documented in tombs, probably as a result of consumption and/or offering of this product.•There is a need for adequate sampling methods to obtain botanical, taphonomic and chronologial information on the use of plants in these contexts.

Despite the current growing number of studies that focus on macrobotanical remains from Middle Palaeolithic contexts, plant use among hunter-gatherer societies remains unknown in many regions of Europe. Large-scale flotation of archaeological sediments has made it possible to recover a large amount of plant remains (fruits, seeds and wood) from units VIII, IX, Xa and Xb at El Salt, Eastern Iberia (49.2–52.3 ka BP). The combination of anthracological and carpological analyses has provided a more accurate picture of the Middle Palaeolithic landscape in the Serpis valley, as well as significant information about other possible uses of plants, not only as fuel, but for woodworking or food, for instance. A minimum of twenty different taxa have been identified among the plant remains. Charcoal analysis suggested that firewood was gathered from nearby sources (<1 km), with a predominance of black-scots pine woodlands (Pinus nigra-sylvestris) and maples (Acersp.). The carpological data reveal the use of some woody taxa not documented in the anthracological record (Taxus baccataor yew) and the presence of few mineralised seeds whose origin remains unknown (Celtis australisor hackberry, Rubuscf. laciniatusor evergreen blackberry). These data have significant implications for the interpretation of plant economy among Neanderthal groups, reinforcing the importance of available woody resources in the surroundings for the subsistence of the group.

•Phytoliths from two archaeological sequences in Western Morocco were analysed.•Results show long trajectories of C3 and C4 plants exploitation.•No evidence that crop-processing was performed inside the two caves.•Palm leaves appear to be widely used at both sites.

•Arboriculture in the Iberian peninsula dates back to the beginning of the 1st millennium BC.•The adoption of fruit tree cultivation is part of the process of social complexity.•A large collection of fruit remains has been dated.