Upper Pleistocene mammals of Poland: six species that allow us to reconstruct the Ice Age (I) - Bison priscus
During the Late Pleistocene, between 126,000 and 11,700 years ago, Europe underwent some of the most profound climatic transformations in its recent history. The major glacial phases of this period were interrupted by significant climatic oscillations, some of them surprisingly rapid. For example, in the final phase of the last glaciation (as can be seen in the graph below), Europe went from extremely cold conditions (Heinrich Stadial) to marked warming (Bølling and Allerød), before experiencing an abrupt cooling (Younger Dryas). Finally, around 11,700 years ago, the Holocene, the current interglacial period, began.
This alternation between cold periods and relatively temperate phases during the Late Pleistocene led to changes that radically altered the landscapes and animal communities.
In what is now Poland, these fluctuations were recorded in the sediments of rivers, caves, river terraces, and ancient lake environments. Mammal fossils found in these deposits allow us to reconstruct a landscape very different from today's: temperate forests during interglacial periods, extensive open areas during cold periods, and an extraordinary fauna of large herbivores and carnivores.
Studies of Polish Pleistocene fauna show precisely this alternation. Species such as the wild boar (Sus scrofa) were mainly associated with forest environments, while the wild horse (Equus ferus) and the steppe bison (Bison priscus) were especially related to open spaces and steppes.
Among the fossils from Poland, we find six particularly interesting specimens: steppe bison, wild boar, deer, wild horse, cave bear, and a canid of the genus Canis. The following blog posts will be dedicated to each of them, expanding on the information available in our catalog, based on various published studies related to mammal fossils found in Poland.
Bison priscus: the giant of the steppes
Among all the mammals we will be discussing in our upcoming publications, the steppe bison (Bison priscus) is probably one of the most emblematic of the Ice Age.
This species occupied a vast area during the Quaternary: Europe, much of Asia, Beringia, and North America. It was one of the large herbivores characteristic of the so-called mammoth faunal complex, associated with open steppe-tundra ecosystems.
The teeth, bones, and skulls of Bison priscus are relatively common in Pleistocene sites in Poland. A major scientific study conducted in Biśnik Cave also demonstrates that the species was present during Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3), an interstadial period of the Late Pleistocene that occurred approximately between 59,000 and 28,000 years ago, and that its remains can provide information about bison dispersal routes during the Late Pleistocene.
Larger and different from the current European bison
Although related to modern bison, Bison priscus had a morphology adapted to wide open spaces.
Its horns could reach enormous sizes, and its skeleton was built to support a large animal. However, it should be noted that the study of Biśnik Cave demonstrates considerable body variability, as the specimen studied was a small male within the known range for the species.
Fossil remains related to Neanderthals
One of the most interesting aspects of Bison priscus is its relationship with Pleistocene human communities.
Specifically, in Biśnik Cave, bison remains appear associated with Middle Paleolithic tools. Researchers believe that some of these accumulations could be related to the processing of hunted animals, although they also consider the possibility of the involvement of large carnivores.
This allows us to imagine the bison not only as a component of the steppe fauna, but also as one of the major animal resources exploited by the human groups that inhabited Europe during the Ice Age.
Finally, as a curiosity, it should be noted that their teeth are especially important for the fossil record because, being formed from mineralized tissues, they can survive for tens of thousands of years even when much of the skeleton disappears.
You can find all our available specimens of this species at the following link:
Sources:
Upper Pleistocene remains of Bison priscus Bojanus, 1827 from Bisnik Cave
(Middle Palaeolithic) and their significance for stratigraphy
and palaeoecology (U. Ratajczak-Skrzatek et al.) - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1040618222000015
Late Pleistocene temperature patterns in the Western Palearctic: insights from rodent associations compared with general circulation models - https://cp.copernicus.org/articles/21/1821/2025/
Environmental conditions across Poland during the Eemian
Interglacial reconstructed from vertebrate remains (Krzystof Stefaniak et al.) - https://digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/100133/1/C_Grande_Moluscos_Cap21.pdf
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