Old World

The Old World is a historical name for the continents of the earth, who were known to Europeans before the discovery of America in 1492: Europe, Africa and Asia.

The comparison with the medieval world view (see picture) shows in schematic wheel ( also TO- card), the settlements of the descendants of the three sons of Noah, Shem in Asia, Ham Africa, and Japheth in Europe.

In contrast, the New World America stands for: North and South America.

Australia and Antarctica are not filed because they were not known at the time when these terms.