The skull, which is now missing its jaw, has had a fascination for him since he was a child, when attending family gatherings at his uncle’s house in Granite City. It was kept on a shelf in the basement laundry room. “I used to play with it,” said Hollis, “and think it was the coolest thing ever.”

The uncle, Jon Mullen, 79, gave it to Hollis several years ago because he knew his nephew always liked it. He was surprised, and a little sad, to learn that Hollis wanted to sell the skull. But it’s Hollis’ now, Mullen said. His nephew can do what he wants with it.

Mullen said the skull was passed down to him from his grandfather, James Steele McCreight, who was born in 1884. McCreight grew up in the small town of Aledo, Ill., just southwest of the quad cities. The “feisty Irishman,” as Mullen remembered him, went to dental school at the University of Chicago. As the story goes, during a stop between dental school and his hometown, perhaps during a summer break, McCreight bought the skull at an exhibition of Native American artifacts.