This item is a set of Pre-Columbian Neolithic Celts, knives and scrapers from the Madden Lake region of Central Panama. All five of these artifacts are surface finds from the shore of Madden Lake when it is at its lowest level at the end of the dry season. These artifacts were found by George Chevalier who lived on the Pacific side of the Panama Canal Zone. George hunted for artifacts only in the American jurisdiction of the former Panama Canal Zone. All 5 of these artifacts have identification marks indicating the approximate location of the surface finds. All 5 have the letters " C. Z. M. L. " which identify the artifacts as " Canal Zone Madden Lake ". Three of the artifacts have the letter " S " with a circle to indicate that these three were all found at the same location. Two of the artifacts have the letters " R C S " to show that these were found in the same location.

There are two celts in this collection. The smaller celt is made out of a layered sedimentary rock or a weathered metamorphic form of volcanic Basalt. This celt has a rough surface texture. One end is ground on both sides to a sharp cutting edge. The second celt was made out of a hard and smooth metamorphic Basalt. One end was ground and polished to a smooth and sharp cutting edge on both sides. Both of these celts are more primitive than most celts found in this region. There are also three lithic tools that can be used as either knives or scrapers. One was made out of Chert or Flint. The second was made out of Quartz or Quartzite. The third was made out of a dark colored, very hard stone, possibly Basalt. The latter has a very sharp edge, almost like a celt but without the crowning.

George Chevalier lived on the Pacific side of the former Panama Canal Zone until he retired and moved to the USA. He was on the same Balboa High School swimming team as my father. George used to hunt for artifacts along the Las Cruces Trail and on the shore of Madden Lake. George usually looked for Spanish artifacts, but one day, he found a small stone ax and brought it home to show to his sister who lived with him. She liked the stone ax and asked George to bring home any others that he found. Over the years, he found dozens of artifacts for his sister and these artifacts are part of the Chevalier collection. All of these artifacts were collected in the American Canal Zone in the 1950s - 1970s and prior to when the territory was ceded back to Panama (1999).

I brought several of these artifacts to U.C. Berkeley for identification. I was told that these lithic artifacts are similar to artifacts in the U.C. Berkeley collection that were dated between 500 B.C. and 1,000 A.D. View pdf files showing Panama Celt sale prices on eBay: Celt #1 and Celt #2.