Italian paleoanthopologist Marco Peresani found a bunch of bird bones in the "Grotto of Smoke," a site known for being "loaded with Neanderthal bones." And he's got a theory: They wore them! As accessories! Fashion!!

Or, well, they did something interesting with the feathers, as the bones that had been cut and scraped "had no clear practical or culinary value." (It is, perhaps, overreaching to declare Neanderthals fashion plates, but we won't let that stop us.) This illustration, by Mauro Cutrona, depicts one way our Neanderthal cousins might have worn these feathers; and, well, it's not the most original feathers look we've ever seen, but the forehead paint is a nice accent.

[MSNBC]