Picture a cave woman. Is she scantily clad in hairy animal skins? That's the popular image, but it's a far cry from the truth. Archaeologists say stone age fashion and fabrics would put Donna Karen and Calvin Klein to shame. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, haute couture for the cave. Also, the bible unearthed – digging for the story of Exodus in the desert sands. And, mourning the Buddhas of Bamiyan.

Buddhist art historian John Huntington talks with Jim Fleming about the enormous statues of the Buddha carved 1400 years ago in Bamiyan, Afghanistan and recently blown up by the reigning Taliban. Also, Neil Silberman, a historian at Belgium's Ename Center for Public Archaeology and co-author (with Israel Finkelstein) of "The Bible Unearthed," tell Steve Paulson that there is little archaeological evidence for the stories told in the Bible.

Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass tells Steve Paulson about the riches discovered in the tomb of the golden mummies. There are thousands of them dating from Roman times, all wearing gold masks. Hawass is the Director of the Giza Pyramids and is in charge of the golden mummy excavation. Also, Bob Brier teaches philosophy at the C.W. Post campus of Long Island University and is an avid Egyptologist. He's the author of "The Murder of Tutankhamun," and gives Jim Fleming a lesson in preparing mummies.

Archaeologist Olga Soffer tells Anne Strainchamps that cave women made textiles and enjoyed a far more varied and beautiful wardrobe than cartoons give them credit for. Also, science writer Pat Shipman tells Jim Fleming about Eugene Dubois, the Dutch scientist who devoted his life to the search for the missing link. Her book is "The Man Who Found the Missing Link."

Distribution dates:

• week of 03/25/2001 - hour 1