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Old World
Synonym of Afro-Eurasia / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The "Old World" (Latin: Mundus Vetus) is a term for Afro-Eurasia that originated in Europe after 1493, when Europeans became aware of the existence of the Americas.[1] It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia in the Eastern Hemisphere, previously thought of by their inhabitants as comprising the entire world, with the "New World", a term for the newly encountered lands of the Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas.[2] While located closer to Afro-Eurasia within the Eastern Hemisphere, Australia is considered neither an Old World nor a New World land, since it was only discovered by Europeans after the distinction had been made; both Australia and Antarctica were associated instead with the Terra Australis that had been posited as a hypothetical southern continent.
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