Old World
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The Old World refers to the continents of Africa, Asia, and Europe, which were home to the earliest human civilizations and societies known to history. It matters because these regions developed the world's first complex societies, writing systems, and major religions that shaped human development for thousands of years before contact with the Americas.
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Old World
Map of the "Old World" (the 2nd-century Ptolemy world map in a 15th-century copy) This T and O map, from the first printed version of Isidore's Etymologiae (Augsburg, 1472), identifies the three known continents (Asia, Europe and Africa) as respectively populated by descendants of Sem (Shem), Iafeth (Japheth) and Cham (Ham).