Being even on the verge of transition from an ancient man to the man, this creature, as well as many animals, used water not only for overcoming of thirst, but also for other procedures such as bathing. In process of perfection, occurrence of new skills, development of manufacture of instruments of a hunt and work the man began consuming more and more water for various needs: in pottery, in processing skins of killed animals, in melt of metal. In process of development of a civilization, development of new fields of activity more and more water was required for a man. The development of a civilization can be measured in liters of water on a person. Now in the most developed country of the world - USA - about 7000 l of water is used by a person per day, whereas in some developing countries - not more than 30 l, which is 200 times less. The man of stone century has, obviously, consumed, less than 10 l of water per day. But the Romans in the golden age of the Roman state consumed up to 700 l of water on the man per day, which is much more, than it is consumed now in a number of the developing countries, and it is more, than the water, which inhabitants of Rome in the Middle Ages consumed. And during government of the emperor Trayan (98-117 ), when the population of Rome reached 1 mln. people, each inhabitant had up to 1000 l of water per day (we shall notice, that in 1968 - only 475 l). Therefore of water it is possible to estimate the golden periods and decline of civilizations, countries and cities in liters.

The archeological finds, the most ancient notes give representation about wide use of irrigation and hydraulic engineering structures in an antiquity. 7-8 thousand years ago the embankments were created in Interriver land for organizing of settlements, protected from floods in such the way. They were surrounded with fields. About 6 thousand years ago the first cities, surrounded with fields, were created there. In the states Shumer and Accad 5-6 thousands of years ago the works on regulation of the rivers of a Tiger and Evfrat were carried out, the large channels, used not only for irrigation, but also for water supply of settlements, but also as transport systems, were constructed. There are laws regulating using of water. In one of clauses of the assirian law, composed 3500 years ago, it was said: "Let everyone make the work on the field and irritate it ".

Last millennium BC has become the golden period of hydraulic engineering art. Many outstanding hydraulic engineering structures are created at this time, the ruins or other certificates about which have reached our time. A number of the inventions connected to water are made at the same period. Water mills are beginning to be used. The first mills were in the state Urartu. One of millstones of an ururat mill is kept in a museum of Tbilisi. The water rising structures like "weep"", using a principle of the lever, a water rising wheel and the archimed screw, which were applied in Ancient Greece, where there were the large irrigation system, were appearing.

Artificial irrigation and system of water supply of the settlements were usually combined in the beginning. But in process of growth of cities and urban population a necessity of building of separate systems of water supply for settlements appeared. It was the second jump in growth of usage of water on a soul of population. The systems of water supply were used for satisfaction of household needs, and also some other economic needs, for example in craft manufacture. The waterpipes of Ecbagan in Assiria, constructed according to the order of legendary empress Semiramida, waterpipes in Jerusalem, on an Samoa island, in Karfagen are well known. The Afines in the golden period , when their population reached 200 thousand people, had 8 waterpipes. In many places of Southern Europe and Northern Africa it is possible to meet ruins of the Roman waterpipes till now. The first waterpipe of Rome was constructed in 313 BC. At the very beginning of our era 9 waterpipes gave up to 88 buckets of water on each inhabitant, or approximately 700 l per day, and at the end of XIX century an ideal was the charge of water - 12,5 buckets on the man per day, an average charge of water on the man was accepted equal to 5,5-6,75 buckets per day, or approximately 40-50 l. The large achievements of Romans in construction of hydraulic engineering structures became possible due to the invention by them of concrete, in which water plays an essential role, and also leaden and ceramic water pipes.

Together with occurrence of practical tasks and attempts of solving them, there was a science about water hydrology the age of which, in opinion of the American hydrologer Reimond Nace, totals 5000 years. At the beginning it was simply saved experience of irrigation works. But exactly 5000 years ago Egyptians have begun to fix annually height of a high water on Nile, marking it on rocks, walls of structures, steps of coastal ladders. Then they begun to create special wells, directly connected with the river: at the centre of them the columns with divisions were put, on which height of a high water was define. According to the height of a high water the future crop was previewed, and on the basis of an preview of a crop it was possible to establish the size of the tax.

In the same time the bases of hydraulics - science about the laws of balance and movement of water - arise. If there is any of us, who does not remember the Archimed's law? Water has become to be used for measurement of time - water hours were invented. And famous Ktesiby from Alexandria has managed to create many rather complex water mechanisms.

After destruction of Rome in 4 century the medieval period of stagnation and emptiness has begun in Europe, many achievement of the Greek and Roman culture were forgotten, and the work of Vitruvy was read and was commented only after 1,5 thousand of years. The irrigation systems in many countries of Europe came in decline, the waterpipes have turned out to be destroyed. The polluted water caused epidemics in dirty smelly medieval cities, from where they were distributed to village district. The whole cities and districts died out. And at this time, the Aztecs built the hydraulic engineering structures, skillfully organizing water supply of cities, being protected from floods, creating irrigation around the city Thenochtitlana, erected around lake, - future Mexico City on American continent, not opened yet. Appeared in hundred years after an end of a structure of the largest Chapultepec aqueduct, the warriors of Kortes did not spare many hydraulic engineering structures of Aztecs.