The harp is a stringed musical instrument which has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard, which are plucked with the fingers. Harps have been known since antiquity in Asia, Africa, and Europe, dating back at least as early as 3500 BCE. The instrument had great popularity in Europe during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, where it evolved into a wide variety of variants with new technologies, and was disseminated to Europe's colonies, finding particular popularity in Latin America. While some ancient members of the harp family died out in the Near East and South Asia, descendants of early harps are still played in Burma and in Sub-Saharan Africa, while other defunct variants in Europe and Asia have been revived by musicians in the modern era.