In 7th century BC, several Mediterranean peoples, the Phoenicians and Carthaginians, Greeks and Etruscans, came into contact with the populations along the coast of the Iberian Peninsula, and established commercial relationships to exchange manufactured goods for raw materials.
During 7th century BC the indigenous Bronze Age people on the Mediterranean side of the peninsula began a long process of evolution, the foundations of Iberian culture.
Iberian culture has several common characteristics: widespread construction with hard materials (stone, adobe), the appearance of town planning, the adoption of the potter's wheel, the development of iron metallurgy and the creation of a local writing system. Society was divided into classes. The economy was based on rainfed agriculture and livestock.
Contact with other settlements had important repercussions in terms of how society was organised, the economy and belief system.