The stem is what gives the type its name.

The specific forms vary: Windust points, named for a site near the confluence of the Snake and Columbia Rivers in Washington State, are among the earliest documented forms; Parman points are a related type found across a broad geographic area; Haskett points from Idaho are another variant.

Regional variation in point form reflects both temporal change within the tradition and geographic variation among the communities that produced these tools.

What distinguishes Western Stemmed Tradition technology from the Clovis tradition is not merely point form.