But, above all, this area is the center of prehistoric cave art. There are some 335 known decorated caves in the world and 75 of them are in the Dordogne. For a prehistory freak (like me), the caves are an unending source of enchantment. It's nearly impossible to imagine that these beautiful renderings were done some 15,000 to 17,000 years ago.

They are done in vibrant colors of red, black, browns and ochres on the walls at Lascaux, sketched on the ceilings in Rouffignac and carved from the limestone walls of Cap Blanc.

Since carbon dating is one of the few tools we have for any evidence about prehistoric days, most everything else is open to conjecture. We do know that these people didn't live in any of the caves where art is found, not even in the mouth of the caves. So decorated caves may have been used for ritual, religion or as a prayer for a successful hunt.

Animals depicted in the cave are horses, aurochs, bison, mammoths and reindeer—reindeer being the most important because they were used for food, clothing and shelter—covering cave entrances. The only human figure found so far is a small stick figure of a reclining man in Lascaux.

Lascaux II, a replica, is what tourists see because Lascaux had to be closed—except to scholars—because fungus created by 15 years worth of visitors was beginning to destroy the art. How can I feel a sense of reverence and sacredness in a place that's a replica, albeit a faithful replica? I don't know, but I did.

In the prehistory museum are shells used as ornamentation on reindeer vests and jackets, on hats, on bracelets and elbow bands, reminiscent of Eskimo wear. These shells weren't necessarily from the region so it's thought that they were used for trade and that these nomadic hunter-gatherers ventured far afield.

Besides prehistory the area is known for fois gras, truffles and cepes mushrooms, the very height of haute cuisine. The cliffs are high and so are the eats. Pigs were formerly used to ferret out truffles, but the porcine procurers had a tendency to eat the truffles before humans could lay hands on them.

Today dogs are used. You find truffles by checking the flies or mites that surround them, under walnut trees. Question: Did the cave men eat truffles? Probably. Why not? If this is the case, have we really undergone 15,000 years of progress? Or should it more accurately be called a progression, not necessarily progress?

What I carried away from the Dordogne was a sense of kinship with prehistoric men and women. The first Homo sapiens weren't really much different from you and me when it gets right down to it.

LAPPING UP FIRST: Now for some summits that are closer to home, such as the Summit Chuters. This five-man mountain bike team won first place in a race at Laguna Seca over one May weekend. The object is to complete as many laps as possible in one day.

And the Chuters claimed victory by wheeling through 29 laps in 24 hours. One lap is 12 miles long and covers a variety of terrain. The locals beat out 32 other teams in their category. Team members are Dave Hokeness and Tim Lyons of Los Gatos; and Ken Johnson, Michael Flocchini and Kevin Kirks of Almaden.

The Chuters have been riding together for six years and train in Demonstration Forest off Summit Road. A few years back the team won second place in a Tahoe race.

YIPPY FOR IPPY: Los Gatan Betty Auchard just picked up a 2005 Independent Publishers' Award for her book, Dancing in My Nightgown: The Rhythms of Widowhood. The IPPY awards are open to university presses and independent publishers that print fewer than 50 books a year.

More than 2,000 books in 58 categories were nominated. Auchard went to the Book Expo in New York to pick up the award and the members of the flight crew on the return flight were so captivated by her book and the story of her award that they had trouble putting it down.

BASEBALL: Sunday Friends, the group that supports low-income families in the South Bay, will hold a fundraising "Day with the San Jose Giants" on June 18, 5 p.m. Baseball fans need to get tickets in advance through Sunday Friends at www.sundayfriends.org/giants.htm. Cost is $25 for four tickets. The game is at San Jose Municipal Stadium, 588 E. Alma St., and the Giants face Modesto. Michael Hobson is the contact at 408.356.0789. Raffle prizes were donated by Gloria Estefan, Ronnie Lott and others.

Got a tip for Main Street? Send email to maryanncook@earthlink.net.