Since the announcement of the discovery of sorghum on the late 3rd millennium BC site of Hili 8 (U.A.E.) in the 1980s, the introduction of summer crops into the Arabian Peninsula has been the subject of much debate. Their presence has long been considered as significant regarding species translocation which occurred since Protohistoric times. However, a critical review of the current archaeobotanical evidence leads us to reconsider the introduction patterns of summer crops in this region, strategically situated between India and eastern Africa. During the last decades, archaeobotanical investigations have produced new data on the conditions and the timing of the use and the possible local introduction of summer crops in Arabia, including finger millet (Eleusine coracana ssp. coracana), cotton (Gossypium sp.), Asian rice (Oryza sativa), sesame (Sesamum indicum), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor ssp. bicolor), mung bean (Vigna radiata), urd bean (Vigna mungo) and cowpea (Vigna unguiculata). This data shows that, except for sesame, most of the summer crops are probably latecomers with an introduction dating to the Classical or Islamic periods. The consideration of the agro-ecological requirements of summer crops, their abundance in the archaeological assemblages as well as textual and ethnographic evidence allows us to discuss their status as imported products resulting from long-distance trade versus their acclimatization in pre-existing local agrosystems.