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The Old World consists of those parts of Earth known to Europeans, Asians, and Africans before the voyages of Christopher Columbus; it includes Europe, Asia, and Africa (collectively known as Africa-Eurasia), plus surrounding islands. The term is in distinction from the New World, meaning the Americas.
Although the interiors of Asia and Africa were not well known to Europeans at the time, their existence was known, as were Japan and South Africa, which are also considered Old World. Oceania and Antarctica are neither definitely Old World nor New World, since the terms "Old World" and "New World" predate their discovery by Europeans.
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