Old World

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Old World consists of those parts of Earth known to Europeans, Asians, and Africans in the 15th century before the voyages of Christopher Columbus; it includes Europe, Asia, and Africa (collectively known as Afro-Eurasia), plus surrounding islands. The term is in distinction from the New World, meaning the Americas and Australasia.

Although the interiors of Asia and Africa were not well known to Europeans at the time, their existence was known. Oceania and Antarctica are neither definitively Old World nor New World, since the terms "Old World" and "New World" predate their discovery by Europeans.

[edit] See also

• Eastern Hemisphere
• Afro-Eurasia
• Eurocentrism
• New World
• Age of Exploration
• Far East
• Synoptic table of the principal old world prehistoric cultures

be-x-old:Стары сьвет bg:Стар свят ca:Vell Món da:Gamle Verden de:Alte Welt es:Viejo Mundo fr:Ancien Monde hr:Stari svijet it:Vecchio Mondo hu:Óvilág nl:Oude Wereld ja:旧世界 no:Den gamle verden oc:Mond Vièlh pl:Stary Świat pt:Velho Mundo ru:Старый Свет simple:Old World sk:Starý svet sv:Gamla världen vi:Cựu Thế giới tr:Eski Dünya zh:旧大陆