Camas Patch Stamped Ware

Camas Patch Stamped Ware is a Columbia Plateau / Northwest pottery type characterized by small “patches” of stamped impressions applied to portions of the vessel surface. These patches may be created with a carved or textured tool pressed into the wet clay, forming repeated motifs in restricted areas rather than over the entire vessel. Forms are typically small to medium jars and bowls with rounded bases and simple rims.

Vessels generally measure about 120 to 240 mm in diameter and 100 to 220 mm in height. Walls tend to be 5 to 9 mm thick, with somewhat thicker bases.

Found in the interior Northwest, particularly in the Columbia Plateau region of Washington, Oregon, and adjacent Idaho, often near major tributaries and camas-gathering locales.

Patch stamping is relatively uncommon in Plateau pottery and can help distinguish Camas Patch Stamped Ware from plain or incised types. Associations with pit houses and late precontact village sites give it good chronological value in regional sequences.