This amazingly well-preserved and large fossil skull is of the massive EUROPEAN STEPPE BISON of the Ice Age, aka Bison priscus.  
This classic Pleistocene beast is also known as the STEPPE WISENT.  It is important to emphasize that it is of EUROPEAN Ice Age origin and NOT one of the many American bison skulls that often turn up on the market.

 Furthermore, this is a TRUE FOSSIL from the days of Europe's last Ice Age when Neanderthals and Cro-Magnon Man hunted these beasts and memorialized their hunts and reverence for these creatures in their famous cave paintings.  It is also important to note that this is a REAL FOSSIL found deep in the Pleistocene Period.
Many of the American bison skulls being sold as 'fossil' are NOT true fossils and most often are either artificially-dyed modern skulls being pawned off as fossils to naive buyers, or Holocene skulls that are antique in origin but not from the Pleistocene Period. 

if one wanted to fully restore this skull, finding the missing pieces would not be hard.  It is impressive as it is and has NO REPAIR AND NO RESTORATION so we feel it is best exhibited in the condition that it is in now. 

The magnificent European Steppe Wisent, scientifically known as Bison priscus, were both revered and hunted by Neanderthals and Cro-Magnon humans.  Their meat, hide, bone and horn would have been valuable resources to humans in order to survive the harsh environment of the Ice Age.  Cave paintings have been discovered depicting stylized wisents and hunting parties of these animals by prehistoric Man.  This beast thrived on the steppes throughout Europe, Central Asia,Beringia  North America during the final Ice Age. 

The presence of incredibly long spines on the upper thoracic vertebra have been speculated over in science.  First, bison have very large heads relative to their body size.  The thoracic spines serve as anchors for the muscles that are needed to support the weight of the head.  The larger the head, the larger the muscle mass needed for support.  Second, larger dorsal spines and longer scapula give the bison a long stride for its relatively short legs.  This allows the bison to walk over long distances with great efficiency of movement.  In large grazing animals, energy conservation and efficiency are a definite advantage to survival.

SUPERB  RARE EUROPEAN ICE AGE STEPPE BISON SKULL WITH HORNS