In the context of
archaeology and
world history, the term "Old World" includes those parts of the world which were in (indirect) cultural contact from the
Bronze Age onwards, resulting in the parallel development of the early
civilizations, mostly in the
temperate zone between roughly the
45th and
25th parallels north, in the area of the
Mediterranean, including
North Africa. It also included
Mesopotamia,
the Persian plateau, the
Indian subcontinent,
China, and parts of
Sub-Saharan Africa. These regions were connected via the
Silk Road trade route, and they had a pronounced
Iron Age period following the Bronze Age. In cultural terms, the Iron Age was accompanied by the so-called
Axial Age, referring to cultural, philosophical and religious developments eventually leading to the emergence of the historical
Western (
Hellenism, "
classical"),
Near Eastern (
Zoroastrian and
Abrahamic) and
Far Eastern (
Hinduism,
Buddhism,
Jainism,
Sikhism,
Confucianism,
Taoism)
cultural spheres. ==Other names==