Book excerpt: Foundations of Ethnobotany: 21st Century focusses on the role played by cultivated plants in changing the face of modern civilization It is important to assess the distribution of cultivated plants in time and space to understand how Ethnobotany can play a role in contributing to the progress and needs of human race in 21st century. The plants contributed by the societies Neolithic to The Bronze Age; Ancient Near East; Bronze Age Europe; Pre-Columbian Americas; Iron Age; Middle Eastern civilizations; South Asian civilizations; East Asia civilizations; Eurasian civilizations; Africa; Medieval to Early Modern; Mughal India; Asia; china, Japan, Southeast Asia; Mesomerican civilizations; Andean civilizations; African civilizations; Modern; Intermediate world; Greater Middle East; Eastern world; East Asia; South Asia and Southeast Asia are discussed.