Map of the "Old World" (the 2nd-centuryPtolemy world map in a 15th-century copy)ThisT and O map, from the first printed version ofIsidore'sEtymologiae (Augsburg, 1472), identifies the three known continents (Asia, Europe and Africa) as respectively populated by descendants ofSem (Shem),Iafeth (Japheth) andCham (Ham).
The "Old World" (Latin:Mundus vetus) is a term forAfro-Eurasia coined by Europeans after 1493, when they became aware of the existence of theAmericas.[1] It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia in theEastern Hemisphere, previously thought of by the Europeans as comprising the entire world, with the "New World", a term for the newly encountered lands of theWestern Hemisphere, particularly the Americas.[2]
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